tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-10225245854138311222018-02-18T12:31:34.328+08:00Infallible Catholicdo battadnoreply@blogger.comBlogger50125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-60584690776732177972013-03-25T01:29:00.001+08:002013-03-25T01:29:19.546+08:00Vatican II: Renewal or a New Religion?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt7HPAdaIP8/UU8d16JikOI/AAAAAAAAPWQ/MmZ-Mw6mBfc/s1600/Conclave+of+the+False+Vatican+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="384" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Vt7HPAdaIP8/UU8d16JikOI/AAAAAAAAPWQ/MmZ-Mw6mBfc/s640/Conclave+of+the+False+Vatican+II.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The apostate conclave of the false Vatican II sect</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />The following article was taken from <a href="http://www.catholicapologetics.info/modernproblems/vatican2/renew2.html" target="_blank">www.catholicapologetics.info</a> to whom sole credit belongs:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>A Great Renewal</i>." "<i>A Bigger and Better Church</i>." "<i>A Second Pentecost</i>." That's what we were promised when our bishops returned from Rome after having approved sweeping changes to the Church's liturgy, discipline, and its entire orientation. And yet despite the initial enthusiasm, four decades later the Church and all of society finds itself in the midst of terrible crisis and confusion. We must ask ourselves: has the present crisis been caused by Vatican II itself or by a "<i>misapplication</i>" of it? Is the true "<i>spirit</i>" of Vatican II one of renewal or one of revolution and of a whole new religion? To begin our study of these questions and related issues, let's compare Vatican II to past Church Councils.</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">How Does Vatican II Stack Up Against Other Ecumenical Councils?</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b>Previous 20 Ecumenical Councils:</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Called at a time of emergency in the Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Purpose was to address a serious problem and to condemn errors that threatened the Church.<span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Holy Ghost solemnly invoked to protect Council from error.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Errors of the time were condemned.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Teachings contained in Council documents were always built on past Tradition and are clear and unambiguous.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Council documents (<i>teachings</i>) are binding upon all Catholics under pain of excommunication.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Council teaching is always infallible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />These Councils were followed by a great renewal and growth after their implementation.</div><ul></ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><ul></ul></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;<b>Vatican II:</b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Called at a time of peace in the Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Purpose was to make the Church which had been flourishing under Pope Pius XII even better. Doctrinal.<span style="white-space: pre;">&nbsp;</span>Pastoral.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Holy Ghost not solemnly invoked in the traditional way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />No errors condemned. Atheistic Communism and Modernism ignored.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Teachings in this Council's documents are often ambiguous and sometimes contrary to past Tradition.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Council documents are not binding upon all Catholics due to their "<i>pastoral</i>" nature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Council teaching is not always infallible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />This Council was followed by a great disaster after its implementation. Nowhere do the fruits of Vatican II show real growth.</div><ul></ul></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Was Vatican II Necessary?</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">No-one disputes that the Catholic Church had been flourishing before Vatican II. Pope John XXIII commented on "the Church of Christ, which is still so vibrant with vitality." (<i>Humanæ Salutis, Dec. 25,1961</i>.) It was probably because the Church was doing so well that the Cardinals were shocked when Pope John first announced on Jan. 25, 1959, his intention to convoke an Ecumenical Council.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An Ecumenical Council is a meeting of bishops whose decisions are approved and promulgated by the Pope. Before Vatican II, there were twenty such Councils in the history of the Church. The Cardinals well knew that the Church convokes a Council only in cases of absolute necessity. Cardinal Pellavicini stated:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">To convoke a General Council except when absolutely demanded by necessity is to tempt God</span></b>." (<i>New Jersey Catholic News, Summer 1984, p.1</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Cardinals had plenty to fear about having a Council in the 1960?s.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As early as May 23, 1923, Pope Pius XI had wanted to convoke an Ecumenical Council to condemn the modern errors of Communism and Modernism. The Cardinals at that time voiced strong opposition to the idea, stating that so many bishops had been imbued with Modernist and liberal ideas that such a Council would do more harm to the Church than good. Cardinal Billot said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">The worst enemies of the Church, the Modernists . . . are already getting ready . . . to bring forth a revolution in the Church, like that of 1789</span></b> [<i>in France</i>]." (<i>Fr. R. Dulac, Episcopal Collegiality of The Second Vatican Council, (French publ.), pp. 9-10</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Due to the dangers involved, Pope Pius XI gave up on the idea of an ecumenical council. He had to be content with condemning the errors of his time in his encyclicals, like <i>Quas Primas</i> (<i>Dec. 11, 1925</i>) restating the rights of Christ the King, <i>Mortalium Animos</i> (<i>Jan. 6, 1928</i>) condemning false ecumenism, <i>Casti Connubii</i> (<i>Dec. 31, 1930</i>) condemning the errors of divorce, artificial birth control and abortion, <i>Mit Brennender Sorge</i> (<i>Mar. 14, 1937</i>) condemning certain errors of <i>Nazism</i>, and <i>Divini Redemptoris </i>(<i>Mar. 19, 1937</i>) condemning Communism.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII decided to resume the project of an <i>Ecumenical Council</i> in 1948, (<i>Fr. R. Dulac, p. 10</i>) because new errors had spread in the Church. But he too had to abandon the idea because by his time ideas of revolution and rebellion had spread to even more bishops and the apparent necessity of such a Council was outweighed by the dangers. Pope Pius XII had to be content with condemning the errors of his time in his encyclicals, like <i>Humani Generis</i> (<i>Aug. 12, 1950</i>) where he condemned several modern errors, including the evolutionary errors of <i>Teilhard de Chardin</i>, and <i>Ad Sinarem Gentem</i> (<i>Oct. 7, 1954</i>) where he condemned certain errors of the Communists.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1959, when Pope John XXIII talked about holding Vatican II, the spread of Modernism and revolution among the bishops had grown worse still, and it even affected many Cardinals. It had only been due to the strong-armed rule of Pope Pius XII that the "<i>rebel</i>" clergy had been kept under control. Under the good-hearted Pope John XXIII, the rebels were able to get out of control and let loose their revolution in the Church. Nonetheless, there were several Cardinals who advised Pope John XXIII <b><span style="color: red;">against </span></b>having an Ecumenical Council. Buoyed up by his boundless enthusiasm, Pope John XXIII ignored the Cardinals, decided to tempt God and held an Ecumenical Council <span style="color: red;"><b>anyway</b></span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Was Vatican II Infallible?</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The Cardinals knew that at a <b><span style="color: red;">doctrinal </span></b>Council the Modernist bishops would prolong the discussion of definitions endlessly and that such a Council would never end. It was decided that Vatican II would be a pastoral Council. (<i>Fr. R. Wiltgen, The Rhine Flows Into the Tiber, Tan Books, p. 20</i>). The fact that Vatican II was a pastoral Council and all the other Ecumenical Church Councils in the Church were doctrinal, <b><span style="color: red;">makes all the difference in the world</span></b>.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Doctrinal teachings are always true. Every Catholic must believe the same doctrinal teachings. In fact, anyone who deliberately denies any of the infallibly defined teachings of the Church, if acting willfully and not out of ignorance, is a heretic and is automatically excommunicated from the Church. As Pope Pius XII taught on June 29, 1943, in his encyclical <i>ON THE MYSTICAL BODY OF CHRIST</i>:</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">"Only those are to be included as members of the Church who have been baptized and profess the true Faith</span></b>."</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In order that everyone might clearly understand what they have to believe, doctrinal teachings are always expressed in language that is clear, precise and unambiguous.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pastoral guidelines and "<i>teachings</i>" cannot be judged to be either "<i>true</i>" or "<i>false</i>." This is because pastoral pronouncements, such as whether books or tape recordings might be useful teaching tools to present the Catholic Faith more effectively, do not apply to all Catholics but are applicable only in those areas where they are pastorally helpful. Thus pastoral pronouncements, rather than being "<i>true</i>" or "<i>false</i>," are instead considered to be "<i>helpful</i>" or "<i>not helpful</i>." And so pastoral pronouncements must be interpreted by each bishop and implemented according to the local situation. The wording of pastoral pronouncements must <b><span style="color: red;">necessarily </span></b>be general and vague so that they can take into account the diverse pastoral situations of the whole world, from those of the poor agricultural nations to those of the rich industrialized ones.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The difference between doctrinal and pastoral teachings has great implications at an Ecumenical Council. To ensure that the teachings at doctrinal Ecumenical Councils are true and contain no error, the Holy Ghost is solemnly invoked at such Councils. As Pope Pius IX taught on March 12, 1870, at the time of<i> Vatican Council I</i>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">The Ecumenical Council is governed by the Holy Ghost . . . it is solely by the impulse of this Divine Spirit that the Council defines and proposes what is to be believed</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Doctrinal Ecumenical Councils form part of the Church's solemn Extraordinary Magisterium. By the solemn invocation of the Holy Ghost, each and every doctrinal teaching of the Extraordinary Magisterium is assured to be infallible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because pastoral pronouncements are neither "<i>true</i>" nor "<i>false</i>", and because they must be expressed in language that is vague and ambiguous, <b><span style="color: red;">they cannot be the subject of infallibility</span></b>. Thus it follows that the Holy Ghost simply <b><span style="color: red;">cannot be solemnly invoked at a strictly pastoral Council</span></b>, because the <b><span style="color: red;">pastoral pronouncements could not be infallible anyway</span></b>. All pastoral pronouncements, even those of Ecumenical Councils which are partly doctrinal and partly pastoral, form part of the Church's day to day Ordinary Magisterium. Thus, what is taught in a pastoral pronouncement is not assured to be infallible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a consequence of the Church's infallibility that the doctrine contained in any new teaching must not contradict doctrine that had previously been taught "<i>always and everywhere</i>" in the Church. <b><span style="color: red;">If a new "<i>teaching</i>" does contradict what was taught before, then the new teaching is obviously not infallible</span></b>. This is confirmed by the infallible proclamation of<i> Vatican Council I</i> on July 18, 1870:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">For the Holy Ghost was not promised to the successors of Peter that by His revelation they might disclose new doctrine, but that by His help they might guard sacredly the revelation transmitted through the apostles and the deposit of Faith [<i>Tradition</i>], and might faithfully set it forth</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus we may conclude from this that if a "<i>teaching</i>" proposed to us by the Ordinary Magisterium of the Church is contrary to previous Church teaching, then the new teaching is <b><span style="color: red;">not infallible, not from the Holy Ghost, and is not to be believed or obeyed</span></b>. Archbishop Felici, the Council's General Secretary, at the closing of Vatican II, confirmed that we must judge the infallibility of individual pronouncements made by Vatican II by comparing them with previous Church teaching (<i>emphasis ours</i>):</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<span style="color: blue;">We have to distinguish according to the schemas and the chapters those which have already been the subject of dogmatic [</span><i style="color: blue;">infallible</i><span style="color: blue;">] definitions; </span><b><span style="color: red;">as for the declarations which have a novel character, we have to make reservations</span></b>." (<i>Crying in the Wilderness Newsletter, "Ecumenism is a Fraud", Autumn 1988, p. 3; also New Jersey Catholic News, Autumn 1987, p.2</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">The Pope said that Vatican II was not Infallible</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul VI, at the close of Vatican II on Dec. 7, 1965, confirmed that the Council did not make infallible pronouncements. He said that the Council</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"as much as possible wanted to define no doctrinal principle of an extraordinary dogmatic sentence."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, on Mar. 8, 1972, the same Pope repeated that</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"it was one of the programmed items [<i>of the Council</i>] not to give solemn dogmatic definitions."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most explicit confirmation that Vatican II was not infallible was given by Pope Paul VI on Jan.12, 1966, when he stated that:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Given the pastoral character of the Council, it avoided proclaiming in an extraordinary manner dogmas endowed with the note of infallibility." (<i>A. de Lassus, Vatican II: Rupture or Continuity, (French publ.), p. 11</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus we conclude that because Vatican II was not infallible like the previous doctrinal Ecumenical Councils had been, it was possible that <b><span style="color: red;">not only mere ambiguities but actual errors</span></b> were able to creep into the Council documents. It is shocking enough to realize that errors were <b><span style="color: red;">possible </span></b>in the documents of Vatican II. We must now ask: <b><span style="color: red;">are the errors there?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Do the Documents of Vatican II Contradict Church Teachings?</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Church Teaches:</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ecumenism&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"It is almost impossible to happen that Catholics who mix themselves with heretics or schismatics in any act of worship might be worthy to be excused from this shameful crime." - Pope Benedict XIV<i>, De Synodo Bk. VI,</i> Chap. 5, Art. 2, 1748.<br /><br />"[<i>It is an error to say that</i>] "in the worship of any religion whatever, men can find the way to eternal salvation, and can attain eternal salvation." - Pope Pius IX<i>, Syllabus of Errors, </i>Error #16, Dec. 8, 1864.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Modern World&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"It is not fitting that the Church of God be changed according to the fluctuations of worldly necessity." - Pope Pius VI, <i>Quod Aliquantum</i>, Mar. 10, 1791.<br /><br />"No man can serve two masters, for to please one amounts to contemning the other . . . It is a high crime indeed to withdraw allegiance from God in order to please men." - Pope Leo XIII, <i>Sappientiæ Christianæ</i>, #6 &amp; 7, Jan. 10, 1890.<br /><br />"About the Rights of Man as they are called, the people have heard enough; it is time they should hear of the rights of God." - Pope Leo XIII, <i>Tametsi</i>, #13, Nov. 1, 1900.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Religious Liberty&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"They do not fear to foster that erroneous opinion, especially fatal to the Catholic Church and to the salvation of souls . . .namely that liberty of conscience and of worship is a right proper to every man, and should be proclaimed and asserted by law in every correctly established society." - Pope Pius IX, <i>Quanta Cura</i>, #3, Dec. 8, 1864.<br /><br />[<i>It is an error to say that</i>] "in this age of ours it is no longer expedient that the Catholic religion should be the only religion of the state, to the exclusion of all other cults whatsoever." - Pope Pius IX, <i>Syllabus of Modern Errors</i>, Error #77, Dec. 8, 1864.<br /><br />"Men who really believe in God must &nbsp;. . . understand that differing modes of worship . . . cannot all be equally probable, equally good, and equally acceptable to God." - Pope Leo XIII, <i>Immortale De</i>i, #31, Nov. 1, 1885.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Collegiality&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"The authority of Peter and his successors is plenary and supreme . . . the bishops . . . do not receive plenary, or universal, or supreme authority." - Pope Leo XIII, <i>Satis Cognitum</i>, #14, June 29, 1896.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Truth&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"Christ has entrusted His Church with all truth." - Pope Pius XII, Mar. 9, 1956.<br /><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;"><b><span style="color: red;">Vatican II Teaches:&nbsp;</span></b></span></b></div><br /><b><br /></b><b>Ecumenism&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"It is allowable, indeed desirable, that Catholics should join in prayer with their separated brethren." - <i>Decree on Ecumenism</i>, #8.<br /><br />"The brethren divided from us also carry out many of the sacred actions of the Christian religion . . . these actions . . . can be rightly described as capable of providing access to the community of salvation." - <i>Decree on Ecumenism</i>, #3.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Modern World&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"the Church . . . can and ought to be enriched by the development of human social life . . . so that she may . . . adjust it [<i>the Constitution of the Church</i>] more successfully to our times." - <i>Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World</i>, #44.<br /><br />"Christians cannot yearn for anything more ardently than to serve the men of the modern world." - <i>Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World</i>, #93.<br /><br />"The Church proclaims the rights of man." - <i>Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World</i>, #41.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Religious Liberty&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"The human person has the right to religious freedom . . . this right of the human person to religious freedom is to be recognized in the constitutional law whereby society is governed. Thus it is to become a civil right." - <i>Declaration on Religious Freedom</i>, #2.<br /><br />"a wrong is done when government imposes upon its people...the profession or repudiation of any religion . . . government is not to act . . . in an unfair spirit of partisanship." - <i>Declaration on Religious Freedom</i>, #6 &amp; 7.<br /><br />"The right of all . . . religious bodies to religious freedom should be recognized and made effective in practice." - <i>Declaration on Religious Freedom</i>, &nbsp;#4 &amp; 6.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Collegiality&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"Together with its head, the Roman Pontiff . . . the episcopal order is the subject of supreme and full power over the universal Church." - <i>Dogmatic Constitution on the Church</i>, #22.<br /><b><br /></b><b>Truth&nbsp;</b><br /><br />"Christians are joined with the rest of men in the search for truth." - <i>Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World,</i> #16.</div></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Errors in the Council Documents Caused the Spirit of Vatican II</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Ecumenism </b>- As a result of ecumenism we have put the tabernacle, rosary, beautiful statues and vestments to the side in our churches because these are "<i>unecumenical</i>." Also as a result of ecumenism, we had no condemnation of Communism at Vatican II. This is because of the <i>Vatican-Moscow Agreement</i> of 1962 whereby the Vatican promised not to condemn Communism if Moscow would agree to send delegates from the Russian Orthodox Church to Vatican II. This policy of "<i>no direct condemnation of Communism</i>" is still in effect to this day. (<i>By contrast, during the reign of Pope Pius XII, any Catholic who voted for a Communist candidate in a general election was automatically excommunicated</i>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Modern World</b> - Many post-Vatican II reforms, which tend to "<i>water down</i>" the Church's teaching, have been made in order to please the world. (<i>note that the Beloved Disciple, St. John, warned the people of his day: "<b><span style="color: red;">Every spirit that dissolveth [waters down] Jesus is not of God: and this is Antichrist</span></b></i>" <i><b>I Jn. 4:3</b>. St. James the Apostle also said: "<b><span style="color: red;">the friendship of this world is the enemy of God. Whoever therefore will be a friend of this world, becometh an enemy of God</span></b>." <b>Jas. 4:4</b></i>). These post-Vatican II reforms include the abandonment of a distinctive religious habit for nuns, brothers and priests, a softening of the "<i>offensive</i>" teachings on artificial birth control, abortion and homosexuality, and the increasing involvement of the Church in socialist "<i>causes</i>." (<i>Pope Pius XII, in a speech given on Mar. 9, 1956, confirmed that: "<b><span style="color: red;">The Church . . . has . . . no mandate . . . no purpose of a cultural order. The purpose which Christ assigns to Her is of a strictly religious nature</span></b>."</i>) The true Mission of the Church is to proclaim the Rights of God, and convert men to the Truth so that they may please God and save their souls, and not to proclaim the rights of man, and convert the Church to the world so that the Church may please men.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Religious Liberty</b> - The Vatican II teachings on religious liberty say that a government should not "<i>impose</i>" Catholic morality on others. We'll give the example of how the bishops of two countries "<i>obeyed</i>" this "<i>teaching</i>" of Vatican II.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Canada in 1968, the Canadian bishops, <b><span style="color: red;">correctly interpreting the "<i>teachings</i>" of Vatican II</span></b>, told the Justice Minister of Canada, John Turner (<i>who was a Catholic</i>), that it was <b><span style="color: red;">not possible</span></b> for a Catholic to "<i>impose</i>" his moral views on the civil law: nor was it possible for the Canadian Government to act "<i>in an unfair spirit of partisanship</i>" or to "<i>impose the profession of any religion</i>" - such as the Catholic religion - on its citizens. The Vatican II teaching on religious liberty <b><span style="color: red;">prevents </span></b>any government from passing laws based on Catholic morality. After the Canadian Bishops advised Mr. Turner, in 1969 he liberalized Canadian laws on abortion, homosexuality, divorce, prostitution and pornography. And so Canada had abortion on demand <b><span style="color: red;">before the USA did</span></b>, thanks to the Vatican II teaching on religious liberty. It is also not surprising that the bishops in Canada and elsewhere give no real opposition to the liberalization of laws on abortion, divorce, prostitution, pornography, and homosexuality, as these laws had previously "<i>imposed</i>" upon non-Catholics an "<i>unfair</i>" adherence to Catholic Morality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the USA, prior to Vatican II, every film made by Hollywood had to pass the scrutiny of a national board established by the US bishops. After Vatican II, the US bishops realized that their censorship of the movies "<i>imposed</i>" their moral views on the rest of the country. And so, <b><span style="color: red;">in obedience to Vatican II</span></b>, they disbanded their censorship board (<i>much to the delight of the makers of pornography</i>). And so, in a certain way, pornography is widespread in the USA and the rest of the world, <b><span style="color: red;">because of</span></b> the Vatican II "<i>teaching</i>" of religious liberty.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And so today, when <b><span style="color: red;">any </span></b>politician says: "<i>I'm personally opposed to abortion, but I don't want to <b><span style="color: red;">impose </span></b>my beliefs on others</i>", <b><span style="color: red;">he or she is only being obedient to the Vatican II teaching on religious liberty</span></b>. It is also true that when Catholics protest against abortion, <b><span style="color: red;">they are actually disobeying Vatican II</span></b>, because they are trying to "<i>impose the profession of any religion</i>" - in this case the Catholic religion - on their fellow citizens.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Church's true teaching on religious liberty and religious tolerance was very clearly taught by Pope Pius XII on Sept. 7, 1955:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">The Church . . . regards as an ideal the unity of the people in the true religion and the unanimity of action between itself and the state</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">The true religion is the Catholic religion</span></b>, (<i>if someone doesn't believe this, then why are they still a Catholic?</i>) and although the purpose of the Church is not political, the laws of the state must be made to work <b><span style="color: red;">in unity with the laws of the Church</span></b>, which represents the Law of God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Collegiality </b>- In many countries we can see the disastrous results of the Vatican II teaching of collegiality. In Canada, on September 27, 1968, the Canadian bishops, invoking "<i>collegiality</i>," issued their now famous "<i>Winnipeg Statement</i>," which allowed and even encouraged Canadian Catholics "<i>in good conscience</i>" to <b><span style="color: red;">disobey </span></b>the Church's clear position against artificial birth control. It was clearly a teaching of morals and was, in the words of the Canadian bishops, "<i>an exercise of the teaching authority of the Canadian bishops</i>." However, &nbsp;Pope Pius VI declared in <i>Auctorem Fidei</i>, #85, Aug. 28, 1794, that:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">The proposition stating that: . . . controversies in regard to faith or morals . . . can be ended by an irrefutable decision made in a national council [<i>of bishops</i>] . . . is schismatic and heretical</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From this we can see that in actual fact, by claiming the authority to make decisions on moral teachings, especially when those decisions contradict Church Teaching, the issuing of the Winnipeg Statement itself was <b><span style="color: red;">a formal act of schism with Rome</span></b>, the setting up of a schismatic "<i>Canadian Church</i>." The very use of the term "<i>Canadian Church</i>" by the bishops shows that the schism is a reality.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Church and The Truth</b> - The Church is the source of all truth. This is what Jesus Christ taught when He told His disciples: "<b><span style="color: red;">When the Spirit of Truth has come, He will teach you all truth</span></b>." (<b>Jn 16:13</b>). The Church does teach infallibly, as at the <i>20 Ecumenical Councils</i> before Vatican II. At these Councils it was necessary to solemnly invoke the guidance of the Holy Ghost to ensure infallibility. As previously noted, the Holy Ghost was not solemnly invoked at Vatican II. Why then is it that some bishops at Vatican II claimed that the Church made errors <b><span style="color: red;">before </span></b>Vatican II, but now they refuse to admit that the Church could possibly make an error <b><span style="color: red;">after </span></b>Vatican II?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Who Won at Vatican II?</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Considering that so many errors were taught at Vatican II, we can only wonder: who benefited by such a Council? Thus, it is only reasonable to ask the question: who won at Vatican II?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Modernists </b>- Did Vatican II represent the final success of the Modernists in the Church? Prof. Van der Ploeg, O.P., the Dutch biblical scholar, said that "<b><i><span style="color: red;">the rise of neo-Modernism is historically connected with the Second Vatican Council</span></i></b>." (<i>New Jersey Catholic News, Summer 1984, p.2</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Communists </b>- Did Vatican II represent the final success of the Communists against the Church? At its 11th Party Congress the Italian Communist Party commented on Vatican II, saying that</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>the extraordinary awakening of the Council, which was rightly compared with the Estates General [in France] in 1789, has shown the world that the old politico-religious Bastille [the Church] is shaken to its foundations . . . A hitherto unforeseen possibility has emerged for us to draw nearer to our final victory . . . the Council itself is providing us gratis with the best means of reaching the Catholic public . . . never was the situation so favorable for us</i>." (<i>Bishop Graber, St. Athanasius, pp. 64-65</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Yves Congar, one of the priest "<i>experts</i>" advising the bishops during Vatican II, confirmed that "<i>the Church has had, peacefully, its October Revolution</i>," referring to the Communist Revolution in Russia in October, 1917. (<i>New Jersey Catholic News, Autumn 1987, p.1</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>French Revolution of 1789</b> - Did Vatican II represent the final success of the French Revolution of 1789 in the Church? Cardinal Suenens said, "<b><span style="color: red;"><i>Vatican II is the French Revolution in the Church</i>.</span></b>" (<i>New Jersey Catholic News, Autumn 1987, p.1</i>). We also find written in the <i>OSSERVATORE ROMANO</i>, the official Vatican newspaper, on Jan. 18, 1984: "<i>The Church . . .with the Council, has assumed and surpassed the liberal democratic conquests of the French Revolution</i>." (<i>de Lassus, p. 17</i>). And finally Cardinal Ratzinger, speaking in his new book <i>PRINCIPLES OF CATHOLIC THEOLOGY</i>, said that the text of the Vatican II document <i>THE CHURCH IN THE MODERN WORLD</i> "<i>represents an attempt at an official reconciliation of the Church with the world as it has been since 1789</i>." (<i>de Lassus, p. 22</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Secret Societies</b> - Did Vatican II represent the final success of the secret societies against the Church? An excommunicated priest named Fr. Roca had this to say at the end of the last century:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>The liturgy, ceremonial, ritual and regulations of the Roman Church will shortly undergo a transformation at an Ecumenical Council . . . the Papacy will fall; it will die under the hallowed knife which the Fathers of the last Council will forge</i>." (<i>Bishop Graber, p. 35</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Roca could certainly be referring to Collegiality. A Freemason named Yves Marsaudon, in his book <i>ECUMENISM AS SEEN BY A TRADITIONAL FREEMASON</i>, wrote that as of 1908:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>the goal is no longer the destruction of the Church but rather to make use of it by infiltrating it</i>." (<i>Bishop Graber, pp. 38-39</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After Vatican II, the Grand Orient Lodge in France reported a "<i>gigantic revolution in the Church</i>" calling it "<i>a prelude to victory</i>". (<i>Bishop Graber, p. 71</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Protestant Reformers</b> - Did Vatican II represent the final success of the Protestant Reformers in the Church? In the French journal, <i>LA DOCUMENTATION CATHOLIQUE</i> of July 3, 1983, a mixed group of Catholics and Lutherans declared that</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i><b><span style="color: red;">among the ideas of Vatican Council II, one can find a welcoming of the requests made by Luther</span></b></i>." (<i>de Lassus, p. 17</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is also worth considering the Vatican II debates in November of 1962, during which the bishops were debating a text "<i>on the sources of Revelation</i>." It has always been the teaching of the Church that there are two sources of Revelation: Scripture and Tradition. Scripture of course is the Bible and represents all the written books handed down through the ages, terminating with the Age of the Apostles and containing God's Revelation. Tradition is the second source of Revelation and contains all the other things that Christ taught His Apostles: "<i><span style="color: red;">To them also He showed Himself alone after His Passion by many proofs, during forty days appearing to them and speaking of the kingdom of God</span></i>" (<i><b>Acts 1:3</b></i>) and "<i><span style="color: red;">Many other signs also Jesus worked in the sight of His disciples, which are not written in this book</span></i>." (<b><i>Jn 20:30</i></b>). These things taught by Jesus were not written down by the apostles but were passed orally from generation to &nbsp;generation. They included how to say Mass, how to perform the other sacraments and rituals as well as other aspects of Church teaching. The Protestants deny Sacred Tradition, relying on "<i>Scripture alone</i>." But Pius XII was one of several Popes to teach us as he did on Oct. 24, 1954, about "<i>the double source of Catholic teaching, namely Sacred Scripture and Tradition</i>." The text that the bishops were debating strongly stressed that there were two sources of Revelation. <span style="color: red;"><b>This offended the Protestants</b></span> however, and a 62% majority (<i>Wiltgen, pp. 49-51</i>) of bishops voted to suspend discussion on the text until <b><span style="color: red;">an ecumenical version more pleasing to Protestants</span></b> could be written.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Vatican II Compromised The Blessed Virgin Mary</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How could God have allowed the bishops to approve so many errors at Vatican II? The answer may be found in the way the bishops treated the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Council. Instead of boldly proclaiming her, the bishops were <b><span style="color: red;">ashamed </span></b>of her, and they <b><span style="color: red;">compromised the Blessed Virgin Mary twice</span></b> during the Council, because she was not "<i>ecumenical</i>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first compromise took place in the Fall of 1963. The bishops were asked to discuss a text on the Blessed Virgin Mary. Very quickly they became divided. Instead of having a document on the Blessed Virgin alone, some bishops thought that the text should be included as part of another document, because this would help foster ecumenical dialogue with "<i>the separated brethren</i>" and also because it would help provide "<i>an antidote to devotional excesses</i>". (<i>Wiltgen, p. 93</i>) How many times since have we heard that Mary should be "<i>put in her proper place?</i>" When the vote was taken on Oct. 29, 1963, the majority of bishops decided not to offend the Protestants and <b><span style="color: red;">voted to compromise the Blessed Virgin Mary</span></b>, including the text on her as part of the document on the Church. (<i>Wiltgen, p. 95</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second compromise of the Blessed Virgin Mary took place in the Fall of 1964. The bishops then resumed discussion on a newly revised text on the Blessed Virgin. In response to the wishes of several bishops, the title "<i>Mary, Mother of the Church</i>" had been removed from the text. Four German priests, <u><b><span style="color: red;">including a young Fr. Joseph Ratzinger</span></b></u>, (<i>Wiltgen, p. 91</i>) requested that all references to "<i>Mary, Mediatrix of All Graces</i>" be removed from the document as well. Despite this, some references were left in the text. <b><span style="color: red;">The liberals were not satisfied</span></b> and many of them, including Cardinal Leger of Montreal, Canada, <b><span style="color: red;">loudly protested</span></b> the inclusion of the title "<i>Mediatrix</i>" in the text. (<i>Wiltgen, p. 154</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The liberals at Vatican II rejected the Blessed Virgin Mary's title: "<i>Mediatrix of all Graces</i>." However, Pope Pius XI would disagree. On May 8, 1928 he proclaimed:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">Trusting in her intercession with Christ our Lord, who though sole Mediator between God and man, wished however to make His Mother the advocate for sinners and the dispenser and mediatrix of His grace . . .</span></b> " (<i>Miserentissimus Redemptor</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII would also disagree with Fr. Ratzinger. On several occasions, the Pope taught that Mary is the Mediatrix of all Graces. We'll quote two of them:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><i><span style="color: red;">Mary is the Mediatrix and Dispenser of graces</span></i></b>." (<i>Radio message, Dec. 8, 1953</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">For she [Mary] has been appointed the Mediatrix of all the graces which look toward sanctification . . .</span></b> " (Sedes Sapientiae, May 31, 1956)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre of France was among those who tried to prevent the liberals from compromising the Blessed Virgin a second time. He wrote the bishops at Vatican II a warning. In this text, dated Oct. 11, 1964, feast of the Motherhood of Mary, he criticized the desire of many to "<i>do away with the title of Mary, Mother of the Church</i>." He also noted that "<i>the ecumenists deplore her being named . . . as Mediatrix.</i>" Recalling the words of Pope Pius XI in his encyclical <i>ON FOSTERING TRUE RELIGIOUS UNITY</i>, Archbishop Lefebvre called on his brother bishops to "<i><b><span style="color: red;">pray to the Virgin Mary, Mother of the Church, for she is at the heart of these disputes and she has always defeated heresies</span></b></i>." Those who wanted to compromise the Blessed Virgin Mary refused to take Archbishop Lefebvre's advice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the time came for the vote on Oct. 29, 1964, the bishops <b><span style="color: red;">compromised the Blessed Virgin Mary a second time</span></b> and voted to approve <b><span style="color: red;">the watered-down text</span></b>. This vote proved to be a turning point at Vatican II, because it was only <b><span style="color: red;">after this</span></b> that the bishops gave final approval to the texts containing all the errors we have noted above. In retrospect we can see that it was only fitting that just as the majority of bishops and the priests (<u><b><i><span style="color: red;">like Fr. Ratzinger</span></i></b>) <b><span style="color: red;">advising them rejected Our Lady</span></b> </u>as Mediatrix of All Graces, so <b><span style="color: red;">God punished all of them</span></b> by withholding His graces from them, allowing them to fall into a spiritual blindness, not seeing the errors they were promoting.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">The Fruits of Vatican II</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Jesus told us that we can judge a tree by the fruits (<b>Mt 7:15-20</b>). After the <i>Council of Trent</i>, no less than one hundred new religious orders were formed in the Church and those that were already in existence saw <b><span style="color: red;">tremendous growth</span></b>. After Vatican II however, the situation was quite different. The disastrous results were felt as early as 1963, the year after the Council had begun. For the period of 25 years prior to Vatican II, the number of men leaving the priesthood annually was about 23 for the whole Church. In 1963 this number jumped to 509 and by 1965, the year the Council ended, it had risen to 1,189. (<i>The Wanderer, Aug.19, 1971</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In France, from 1963 to 1973, seminary enrollment declined by 83%. Mass attendance plummeted 66% in France, 54% in Holland, 50% in Italy and 40% in the U.S.A. Infant baptisms are down 50%, adult conversions 75%, while the divorce rates among Catholics, along with birth control, have reached shocking proportions. (<i>New Jersey Catholic News, Summer 1984, p.1</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Council had such immediate and disastrous results on the teaching of the Catholic Faith that the then Prefect of the Holy Office (<i>Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith</i>), Cardinal Ottaviani, wrote to all the bishops and religious superiors of the world on July 24, 1966 asking them to reply to an inquiry on the dangers which threatened certain fundamental truths of our Faith. Today the situation grows increasingly worse as millions of Catholics around the world stop practicing their religion, and millions more who still do practice it, no longer understand even the most elementary of Catholic teachings.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul VI commented on the disastrous results that Vatican II was producing in the Church. On Dec. 7, 1968, the Pope lamented that</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"the Church finds herself in a time of uncertainty, of self-criticism, and even self-destruction. It is like an internal upheaval . . . as if the Church were striking blows to herself."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then on June 29, 1972 the Pope remarked that</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"by some crack the smoke of Satan has entered the Church." (<i>de Lassus, p.9</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is not reasonable to say, as some do, that such rapid and widespread destruction has been the result of "misinterpretations" of Vatican II. If this were so, then we should not expect the destruction to be so violent, and what is more, we should at least expect to find some dioceses or religious orders that did not undergo the same destruction that we find all around us. The fact is that <span style="color: red;"><b>the only diocese that showed a great flowering after Vatican II is the only diocese where the "reforms" of Vatican II were never implemented</b></span>, and that is the diocese of Campos, Brazil.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As stated above, pastoral pronouncements are not strictly binding upon all Catholics. Thus after Vatican II, bishops were free to accept any and all of the Council's decisions that were pastorally "<i>helpful</i>" or even to accept none of them. The late Bishop de Castro-Mayer of Campos, Brazil <i>(who joined with Archbishop Lefebvre as a witness in defense of the Traditions of the Church</i>) decided to reject the new "<i>teachings</i>" of Vatican II and he also rejected the "<i>New Mass</i>" of Pope Paul VI. The result? While bishops around the world saw the destruction of their dioceses, in the diocese of Campos, Bishop de Castro-Mayer saw his convents and seminaries full, and the people of his diocese continued the uninterrupted practice of their religion. The destruction of the Faith in Campos began only in 1981, when Bishop de Castro-Mayer was forcibly retired by Rome and his successor began to fully implement the "<i>new order</i>" of Vatican II. Despite this, a great number of Catholics in Campos continue to this day to "<i>buck the system</i>" and fight against their new "<i>reformer</i>" bishop and the entire hierarchy who would destroy their Faith with Vatican II. Thus they have built their own churches, their own schools, and are prepared to <b><span style="color: red;">defend their Faith to the death</span></b> whenever the new modern bishop <b><span style="color: red;">calls in the army against them</span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So we see that:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">- in every place that Vatican II has been applied there has been a disaster to the Faith<br /><br />- in the one place it has not been applied there has been a continued flowering of the Faith<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">therefore we must conclude that the present crisis of faith <b><span style="color: red;">is caused by Vatican II itself</span></b>, not a misapplication of it. We have also demonstrated that the errors are contained right in the documents of Vatican II, and are not simply the result of misinterpretations.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Vatican II: A New Religion</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We have already seen that the bishops at Vatican II promised to make the Church better with their "<i>reforms</i>". This hasn't happened. So what have the reforms created instead?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Catholic Religion teaches:</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The Catholic Church is the only way to salvation and only the Catholic religion has rights in society.<br /><br />The Catholic Church is not of this world.<br /><br />The Catholic Church is a monarchy.<br /><br />The Catholic Church is the source of all truth.<br /><br />The Catholic religion venerates the Blessed Virgin Mary as the Mother of God.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Vatican II teaches:</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There are many ways to salvation and that all religions should have equal rights.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The Church should embrace the modern world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space: pre;"><br /></span>The Church is a democracy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Christians must search with others to find the truth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Vatican II compromises the Blessed Virgin Mary for the sake of ecumenism.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In short, we see that the bishops at Vatican II did not create a renewal of the Catholic Church as they promised, but instead created a new religion with its own system of government, set of teachings and mode of worship that are <b><span style="color: red;">all in opposition to the Catholic religion</span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We believe the situation is serious enough that <u><b><span style="color: red;">we must oppose these reforms of Vatican II</span></b></u>, just as brave Catholics opposed the Protestant reforms of Cranmer in England.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-53956946342674403152013-03-24T20:27:00.001+08:002013-03-24T20:27:27.885+08:00Flooding at the Shrine of Lourdes in France<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAcK0lSyah4/UU7gtupOYdI/AAAAAAAAPWA/Xa35k82YufQ/s1600/Flooding+at+the+Shrine+of+Lourdes+Grotto.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="426" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KAcK0lSyah4/UU7gtupOYdI/AAAAAAAAPWA/Xa35k82YufQ/s640/Flooding+at+the+Shrine+of+Lourdes+Grotto.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">View of the&nbsp;flooded&nbsp;Grotto of Lourdes in southwestern France</span><br />(Photo credit:&nbsp;</b><b><a href="http://sacredspace102.blogspot.com/2012/10/lourdes-sanctuaries-flooded.html" target="_blank">sacredspace102.blogspot.com</a>)</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">It is interesting to note that on October 21, 2012, the very same day that a reliquary containing the blood of anti-pope John Paul II was scheduled to arrive in the Shrine of Lourdes in France during a pilgrimage organized by UNITALSI (<i>Italian National Union for Transport of the Sick to Lourdes and International Shrines</i>) which was supposed to have taken place from October 21 to 27 so that it can be seen and venerated by pilgrims from all over the world, in a strange stroke of unbelievable coincidence, severe floods, said to be the worst in 25 years, heavily inundated the shrine after days of non-stop downpour of rain in southwest France and forced the immediate closure of the sanctuary for several days and evacuation of some 450 pilgrims to a nearby conference center and a sports complex.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">The incident clearly shows how the Immaculate Blessed Virgin Mary thinks about the great apostate, anti-pope John Paul II.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Two campsites were also evacuated and several roads closed around the Grotto, where the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to Saint Bernadette Soubirous in 1858, as the Gave de Pau burst its&nbsp;river&nbsp;&nbsp;banks. The water was one meter deep in front of the grotto with debris like bits of wood, candles and branches floating on the surface, and about 80 centimeters in the avenue du Paradis where most of the hotels for pilgrims are situated. Only the massive basilica, built on higher ground, was accessible.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">An estimated six million pilgrims visit the shrine every year where many disabled or sick people who went there to pray for a cure were miraculously healed by the Grotto's spring waters.&nbsp;The Catholic church recognizes 67 miracles associated with the shrine.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com1Lourdes, France43.091463 -0.04572600000005877542.998724499999994 -0.20708750000005877 43.1842015 0.11563549999994122tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-5087044845572899472013-03-16T18:25:00.000+08:002013-03-24T18:48:59.667+08:00Sister Faustina’s Divine Mercy Devotion<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the&nbsp;<a href="http://mostholyfamilymonastery.com/">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a>&nbsp;which is&nbsp;written by Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B. to whom sole credit belongs:</div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cMvQEfj39qE/UU7XjRvpqgI/AAAAAAAAPVo/aO4apx2OAlA/s1600/divinemercy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cMvQEfj39qE/UU7XjRvpqgI/AAAAAAAAPVo/aO4apx2OAlA/s640/divinemercy.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Sister Faustina Kowalski and the image of the divine mercy</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Sister Faustina’s Divine Mercy Devotion is something to avoid.</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: left;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Over the years we had heard different opinions about the Divine Mercy Devotion; we didn’t know exactly what to think about it. <u><b><span style="color: red;">The fact is that in the 1950’s the Divine Mercy Devotion was suppressed and Sr. Faustina’s diary was on the index of forbidden books</span></b></u>. It was only rehabilitated around the world by John Paul II after Vatican II. In addition to that, something that concerned us was that it seemed to be popular among the Charismatic “<i>Catholics</i>,” and that it seemed to be used as a substitute for the Rosary. Some time ago one of us decided to quickly flip through the more than 600-page book <i>Divine Mercy in my Soul Diary</i> by Sister Faustina Kowalski. Below are just a few strange things that were found in that investigation that are enough to convince us that this “<i>devotion</i>” is something to be avoided.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 23 of the book<i> Divine Mercy in My Sou</i>l (The Diary of Sr. Faustina), it says: “<span style="color: blue;">… </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">and the host came out of the tabernacle and came to rest in my hands</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> and I, with joy, placed it back in the tabernacle. This was repeated a second time, and I did the same thing. Despite this, it happened a third time…</span>”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 89 of the book <i>Divine Mercy in My Soul</i>, it says: “<span style="color: blue;">When the priest approached me again, I raised the host for him to put back into the chalice, because when I had first received Jesus I could not speak before consuming the host, and so could not tell Him that the other host had fallen. </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">But while I was holding the host in my hand, I felt such a power of love</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> that for the rest of the day I could neither eat nor come to my senses. I heard these words from the host:</span><u><b><span style="color: red;"> I desired to rest in your hands</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, not only in your heart</span>.”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 168, it says: “<span style="color: blue;">The moment I knelt down to cross out my own will, as the Lord had bid me to do, I heard this voice in my soul: From now on</span>, <b><span style="color: red;">do not fear God’s judgment, for you will not be judged</span></b>.” (<i>From Feb. 4, 1935</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 176, “<i>Jesus</i>” says to her: “<span style="color: blue;">You are a sweet grape and a chosen cluster; </span><b><span style="color: red;">I want others to have a share in the juice that is flowing within you</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 191, “<i>Jesus</i>” says to her: “<span style="color: blue;">For your sake I will withhold the hand which punishes; </span><b><span style="color: red;">for your sake I will bless the Earth</span></b>.” (<i>Also see page 378</i>.)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 247, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<b><span style="color: red;">And know this, too, My daughter: All creatures, whether they know it or not, and whether they want to or not, always fulfill my will</span></b><span style="color: blue;">… My daughter, if you wish, I will this instant create a new world, more beautiful than this one, and you will live there for the rest of your life</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 260, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<span style="color: blue;">For many souls will turn back from the gates of Hell and </span><b><span style="color: red;">worship My mercy</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 374, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<b><span style="color: red;">If they will not adore My mercy</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, they will perish for all eternity</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 382, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<b><span style="color: red;">I desire that My mercy be worshipped</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 288, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<span style="color: blue;">That is why <b>I am uniting myself with you so intimately as with no other creature</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 400, “<i>Jesus</i>” says: “<span style="color: blue;">I see your love so pure, purer than that of the angels, and all the more so because you keep fighting. </span><b><span style="color: red;">For your sake I bless the world</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 417, we read that “<i>Jesus</i>” supposedly gave Sr. Faustina this instruction: “<b><span style="color: red;">Tell the Superior General to count on you as the most faithful daughter in the Order</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 583, we read that Sr. Faustina said: “<span style="color: blue;">When I took the Messenger of the Sacred Heart into my hand and read the account of the canonization of St. Andrew Bobola, </span><b><span style="color: red;">my soul was instantly filled with a great longing that our congregation, too, might have a saint and I wept like a child that there was no saint in our midst</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And I said to the Lord, ‘I know your generosity, and yet it seems to me that you are less generous towards us.’ And I began again to weep like a little child. And the Lord Jesus said to me, ‘Don’t cry. </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">You are that saint</span></b></u>.’”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 602, we read that “<i>Jesus</i>” supposedly said: “<b><span style="color: red;">I cannot stand them, because they are neither good nor bad</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 612, we read that “<i>Jesus</i>” supposedly said: “<b><span style="color: red;">I bear a special love for Poland</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and if she will be obedient to My will, I will exalt her in might and holiness. </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">From her will come forth the spark that will prepare the world for My final coming</span></b></u>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 643, we read that Sr. Faustina said after receiving Communion: “<b><span style="color: red;">Jesus transform me into another host!</span></b><span style="color: blue;">… You are a great and all-powerful Lord; you can grant me this favor. And the Lord answered me, ‘</span><b><span style="color: red;">You are a living host</span></b>.’”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On page 208 we learn that “<i>Jesus</i>” supposedly told Sr. Faustina about the new Divine Mercy Devotion and supposedly instructed her that it is to be said on the beads of the Rosary: “<span style="color: blue;">This prayer [</span><i style="color: blue;">the Divine Mercy Devotion</i><span style="color: blue;">] will serve to appease my wrath. </span><b><span style="color: red;">You will recite it for nine days, on the beads of the Rosary</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, in the following manner: First of all, you will say one Our Father and Hail Mary and the I Believe in God. Then </span><b><span style="color: red;">on the Our Father beads you will say the following words: ‘Eternal Father</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> I offer you the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of your dearly beloved Son, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in atonement for our sins and those of the whole world.’ </span><b><span style="color: red;">On the Hail Mary beads you will say the following words</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: ‘For the sake of His sorrowful Passion have mercy on us and on the whole world.’ In conclusion, three times you will recite these words: ‘Holy God, holy mighty one, holy immortal one, have mercy on us and on the whole world</span>.’” (<i>Saturday, Sept. 14, 1935</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The above statements present a number of problems. The first problem is the promotion of Communion in the hand, which is supposedly endorsed by Our Lord. The Host flies into her hand numerous times; Our Lord supposedly says that He desires to rest in her hands. We believe this is a diabolical snare to get Communion in the hand accepted intellectually in advance of the Vatican II religion.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Second, we see unnecessary praise heaped upon this sister. We see things said to her supposedly by Our Lord that wouldn’t foster humility, but vanity – that she is basically the greatest thing in the world. We don’t believe Our Lord would ever instruct her to tell her superior that she is the most faithful daughter in the Order. Our Lord could have told the superior such a thing, if he wanted it known.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Third, we see that Sr. Faustina is told that God’s spark – which will prepare the world for His Second Coming – comes out of Poland! This has been interpreted to mean that God’s chosen person was John Paul II, who was from Poland! Since we know that John Paul II was an apostate, a non-Catholic antipope, a man who endorsed the false religions of the world, this shows us again that Sr. Faustina’s revelations were from the Devil. In fact, it shows us how much the Devil wanted to prop up support for John Paul II.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fourth, the Divine Mercy Devotion is centered around mercy at a time when mankind was coming closer and closer to having filled up the cup of divine justice. The problem at that time, and today, of course, was that men didn’t fear God and continued to offend Him. They needed to hear about His justice. But the Divine Mercy devotion was the perfect false devotion and message to make people believe that they will receive God’s mercy even if they stay in their sins; it even instructs people to “<i>worship</i>” His mercy.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fifth, and perhaps most importantly, would God reveal a new devotion to be said on the beads of the Rosary shortly after His Mother came to Fatima to work a profound miracle to reveal, among other things, the necessity of the Rosary? The specific direction given to Sister Faustina for the Divine Mercy Devotion to be prayed on the beads of the Rosary is clearly, we believe, the Devil’s substitute for the Rosary. And we’ve seen it used that way with so many souls. The Divine Mercy Devotion is a clever counterfeit which, being traditional in so many ways, serves the Devil’s purpose to get this counter-devotion inserted into conservative-minded circles, which the Devil hopes will use it as a substitute for the Rosary.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All these things considered, <u><b><span style="color: red;">the Divine Mercy Devotion is something which should be avoided by Catholics</span></b></u>. Catholics should say an extra rosary or the Stations of the Cross instead.&nbsp;</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-22130159742325768732013-03-13T10:04:00.005+08:002013-03-13T10:04:59.362+08:00The Blessed Virgin Mary - The New Ark of the Covenant<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n0Zt9v7iylA/UPuOYsedOLI/AAAAAAAAOp8/AUQYjO9G-24/s1600/BVM.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-n0Zt9v7iylA/UPuOYsedOLI/AAAAAAAAOp8/AUQYjO9G-24/s400/BVM.jpg" width="317" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Image of the Immaculate Heart of Mary</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the book, <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/Articles/the_bible_on_the_blessed_virgin_mary.pdf" target="_blank"><b><i>The Bible Proves the Teachings of the Catholic Church</i></b></a>, which was written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B, of the <a href="http://mostholyfamilymonastery.com/">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> to whom sole credit belongs:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLICAL BASIS FOR PRAYING TO MARY AND FOR CATHOLIC TEACHINGS ON MARY</span></b></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Blessed Virgin Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ. Contrary to the claims of some, the Catholic Church does not teach and has never taught that Mary is God. That would be heresy. Mary is just a creature, but the greatest of all the human beings ever created by God. Please look at this biblical evidence for the Catholic teachings about Mary, and why it’s so necessary to understand her role and importance.<br /><br />To understand the Bible and what it teaches about Mary (<i>the mother of Jesus Christ</i>), one must understand Biblical types.<br /><br />Type = a true event, person or institution in the Old Testament which foreshadows or prefigures something in the New Testament.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT ADAM, THE FIRST MAN, WAS A TYPE OF JESUS CHRIST</span></b></div><br />Jesus Christ was true God and true man. Adam was only a man, the first man. However, the Bible says that Adam was a type of the one who was to come, Jesus Christ.<br /><br /><b>Romans 5:14</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of</span> <b><span style="color: red;">Adam's transgression, who is the figure</span></b> [<i>type</i>] <b><span style="color: red;">of him that was to come</span></b> [<i>Jesus</i>].”<br /><br />How was Adam a type of Jesus? It’s perhaps best summed up in this passage.<br /><br /><b>Romans 5:19</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous</span>.”<br /><br />Adam plunged the world into sin; Christ came to redeem the world from Adam’s sin. Adam sinned by his disobedience at the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; Christ redeemed the world by His obedience and sacrifice on the tree of the Cross. That’s why the Bible says that Christ is the new or second or last Adam. He came to undo what Adam did. He became the head of the new and redeemed race of those who supernaturally live in Christ, whereas Adam, the first man, was the head of humanity which fell into sin.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT JESUS CHRIST IS THE SECOND ADAM</span></b></div><br /><b>1 Corinthians 15:45&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">And so it is written, the first man Adam was made a living soul;</span> <b><span style="color: red;">the last Adam</span></b> <span style="color: blue;">was made a quickening spirit</span>.”<br /><br />There are many biblical types. Keep in mind that all of these events, persons and things were <i>real </i>events, persons and things which also prefigured something that would come later. Here are a few examples:<br /><br /><b>1 Cor. 10:1-2</b> – The Bible teaches that the Crossing of the Red Sea (<i>Exodus 14</i>) prefigured baptism.<br /><br /><b>1 Peter 3:19-21</b> – The Bible teaches that Noah’s Ark and the Great Flood prefigured being saved by baptism and the Church.<br /><br /><b>1 Cor. 5:7</b> – The Bible teaches that the Passover Lamb, which was sacrificed (<i>Exodus 12</i>), prefigured Christ, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world (<i>John 1:29</i>).<br /><br /><b>Heb. 8:8-9</b> – The Bible teaches that the Old Testament system was a “<i>shadow</i>” or figure of the New Testament.<br /><br /><b>Matthew 12:40</b> – The Bible teaches that Jonas’ three days and nights in the belly of the whale prefigured Jesus Christ’s Resurrection from the dead after three days.<br /><br />Many other examples of biblical types could be given. It’s important to understand that the fulfillment of a type (<i>called an “antitype”</i>) is greater than the type. Jesus Christ is infinitely greater than Adam; the New Testament is greater than the Old; the Resurrection is greater than the travails of Jonas; etc. With that in mind, we must now consider types of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. There are many types of Mary. In addition to other biblical evidence, these types provide <u><span style="color: red;">undeniable biblical proof</span></u> for Catholic teachings about Mary. The following points will undoubtedly be new and surprising to many non-Catholics.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">AS CHRIST IS THE NEW ADAM, MARY IS THE NEW EVE</span></b></div><br />As mentioned already, Adam was a type of Jesus Christ. There was a distinct woman who was involved with Adam, the first man, in the downfall of the world into sin. That was Eve, the first woman. It was Adam’s transgression which constituted the original sin. But Eve was instrumental and inextricably bound up with the events leading up to the original sin. The woman (<i>Eve</i>) sinned and was the occasion for Adam to sin.<br /><br /><b>Genesis 3:1-6&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto </span><b><span style="color: red;">the woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, Yea, hath God said, ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. </span><b><span style="color: red;">And the serpent said unto the woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, </span><b><span style="color: red;">she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat</span></b>.”<br /><br />Just as “<i>the woman</i>” (<i>Eve</i>) was intimately involved in the events leading up to the original sin, there is a distinct woman who was intimately involved in the events leading up to the Redemption. That is Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. She is the new Eve.<br /><br />There are numerous clear parallels in the Bible between Eve and Mary. These demonstrate that Mary is the new Eve, as Christ is the new Adam.<br /><br />EVE COMMUNICATED WITH, BELIEVED AND OBEYED A FALLEN ANGEL (<i>THE SERPENT</i>) –<br /><br />MARY COMMUNICATED WITH, BELIEVED AND OBEYED A GOOD ANGEL (<i>GABRIEL</i>)<br /><br /><b>Genesis 3:4-6</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">And the serpent said unto the woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, ye shall not surely die… </span><span style="color: red;"><b>she [<i>Eve</i>]</b></span><span style="color: blue;"> took of the fruit thereof, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and did eat&nbsp;</span></b><span style="color: blue;">...</span>”<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:26-38</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">… </span><b><span style="color: red;">the angel Gabriel</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> was sent from God into a city of Galilee… to a virgin… and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, </span><b><span style="color: red;">said unto her</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women… And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus… </span><b><span style="color: red;">And Mary said: Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done to me according to thy word</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And the angel departed from her</span>.”<br /><br />Eve was approached by the serpent (<i>the Devil</i>), a fallen angel. Eve believed his lying words and disobeyed God. Eve sinned and caused her husband to sin, plunging the world into death.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bZplK8O-gAM/UTyfBiPnPwI/AAAAAAAAPTc/cgsd98HrtJk/s1600/The+Annunciation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bZplK8O-gAM/UTyfBiPnPwI/AAAAAAAAPTc/cgsd98HrtJk/s320/The+Annunciation.jpg" width="253" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Annunciation</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Mary was approached by Gabriel, a good angel. Mary believed his message of salvation: that she was blessed among women, full of grace, and would bring forth the Savior. Mary obeyed God. By her obedience, she consented to the conception of Jesus Christ in her womb, and enabled Him to come and redeem the world from Adam’s sin.<br /><br />Even in the very ancient Church, these biblical parallels were recognized as identifications of Mary as the new Eve, just as Christ is the new Adam. St. Irenaeus was a famous apostolic father from the second century. He contrasts the first Eve with the second Eve (<i>Mary</i>).<br /><br />St. Irenaeus, <i>Against Heresies</i>, Book III, Chap. 22, 185 A.D.- “In accordance with this design, <b><span style="color: red;">Mary the Virgin is found obedient</span></b>, saying, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it done unto me according to your word (<i>Luke 1:38</i>). <b><span style="color: red;">But Eve was disobedient</span></b>; for she did not obey when as yet she was a virgin… <b><span style="color: red;">And thus also it was that the knot of Eve's disobedience was loosed by the obedience of Mary. For what the virgin Eve had bound fast through unbelief, this did the virgin Mary set free through faith</span></b>.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">EVE WAS THE MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING –&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY, AS MOTHER OF JESUS, IS THE MOTHER OF ALL THE LIVING AND EVEN OF LIFE ITSELF</span></b></div><br /><b>Genesis 3:20</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Adam </span><span style="color: red;"><b>called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all the living</b></span>.”<br /><br />Eve was called the “<i>mother of all the living</i>” because all who had life descended from her. Mary is also the mother of all the living, but indeed in a greater way. Mary is the mother of Jesus Christ, who is Life itself and in whom all life is to be found.<br /><br /><b>John 1:4</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">In him</span> [<i>Jesus</i>]<span style="color: blue;"> was life; and the life was the light of men</span>.”<br /><br /><b>Matthew 1:16</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Mary, of whom was born Jesus…</span>”<br /><br /><b>John 14:6</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Jesus saith unto him,</span> <b><span style="color: red;">I am</span></b> <span style="color: blue;">the way, the truth, and</span> <b><span style="color: red;">the life</span></b>: <span style="color: blue;">no man cometh unto the Father, but by me</span>.”<br /><br />Jesus is the Life. Mary is, therefore, literally the mother of Life itself. The parallel to Eve, the mother of all the living, is clear. The difference is that Mary is the mother of a Life that is infinitely greater than human existence. Those who live and die in her Son have access to eternal life in Him and become new creatures.<br /><br /><b>2 Corinthians 5:17</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature</span>.”<br /><br />The fulfillment (<i>Mary as mother of all the living</i>) is again greater than the type (<i>Eve as mother of all the living</i>).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">EVE WAS CREATED WITHOUT ANY SIN –</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE NEW EVE, MARY, ALSO HAD TO BE CREATED WITHOUT ANY SIN</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">(IMMACULATELY CONCEIVED)</span></b></div><br />We’ve seen that the Bible indicates that Mary is the new Eve. So the question is: <b><span style="color: red;">in what state was the soul of Eve created? Eve was created in Genesis 2 free from all sin. The entire creation was perfect until the fall of mankind</span></b>. Adam and Eve were both created in a state of original justice. They didn’t lose that state of original perfection, in which they were free from all sin, until the original sin in Genesis 3.<br /><br />If God created the first woman (<i>the first Eve</i>) without any sin, then He could certainly create the second (<i>and greater</i>) Eve (<i>the Blessed Virgin Mary</i>) without any sin. That’s exactly what He did. He had to do so as a matter of proportion and justice because she would be the first member of the redeemed humanity.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">DEFINITION OF THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION</span></b></div><br />Pope Pius IX, <i>Ineffabilis Deus</i>, Dec. 8, 1854 - “<span style="color: blue;">We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instant of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, </span><b><span style="color: red;">in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful</span>.”<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xw_i-TzcWu4/UTyg5IMqZPI/AAAAAAAAPTk/krG11Hcnwio/s1600/Immaculate+Conception.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-xw_i-TzcWu4/UTyg5IMqZPI/AAAAAAAAPTk/krG11Hcnwio/s320/Immaculate+Conception.jpg" width="218" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Immaculate Conception</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Some mistakenly think that the Immaculate Conception refers to the miraculous conception of Jesus in the womb of the Virgin Mary. That’s not correct. Jesus was indeed conceived without any sin in the womb of Mary, but the Immaculate Conception refers to the conception of Mary in the womb of her mother. From the very first instant of her creation, she was preserved from any stain of original sin, which every other member of the human race (<i>except Jesus</i>) inherits.<br /><br />God preserved her without sin in view of the saving merits of Jesus Christ. It was done for Mary because she had to be the uncursed and pure vessel which would carry the all-holy God. In order to carry infinite holiness, Mary had to be holy from the first instant of her creation.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">JESUS SAVED MARY IN A GREATER WAY</span></b></div><br />So, if Mary was preserved from the stain of the original sin, does that mean that she didn’t have a Savior? No. Mary answers that herself.<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:46-47</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Mary said, my soul doth magnify the Lord, and my spirit hath rejoiced </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">in God my Savior</span></b></u>.”<br /><br />God saved Mary by preventing her from contracting original sin. Suppose that a man falls into a deep hole in the forest, but is pulled out by his friend. It is true to say that the friend saved the man. Now suppose a man sees a woman walking toward the deep hole, and catches her just before she falls in. He stops her from falling into the hole in the first place, so that she doesn’t get injured or dirty at all. Did he save the woman? Certainly he did. He saved her in a greater way, by preventing her from falling into the hole and suffering any of the harmful consequences.<br /><br />That’s how God saved Mary. Jesus was her Savior in an even greater way, by preventing her from ever contracting original sin, and by preserving her from sin throughout her life. He did this for Mary, in view of her unique role. The sinlessness of Mary is indicated by numerous types in the Bible.<br /><br />Some express disbelief at the notion that God would create someone completely free from sin. They are forgetting that God created the first man and woman without sin.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE TEACHES THAT MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT</span></b></div><br />We will now see that the Bible without any doubt identifies Mary as the Ark of the New Testament. It identifies Mary as the New Testament counterpart to the Ark of the Old Testament. Mary is the new and greater fulfillment of what was prefigured by the Ark of the Old Testament. This information is some of the most important and revealing about Mary’s profound role.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FomZdVPJkd0/UTyjMjKhGuI/AAAAAAAAPTs/-054AOscHek/s1600/Ark+of+the+Covenant.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-FomZdVPJkd0/UTyjMjKhGuI/AAAAAAAAPTs/-054AOscHek/s320/Ark+of+the+Covenant.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Ark of the Covenant</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Since it carried and represented the presence of God, <b><span style="color: red;">the Ark of the Old Covenant/Testament was the holiest and most powerful thing on Earth outside of God Himself</span></b>. The Ark of the Covenant was a sacred chest which contained the stone tablets of the Ten Commandments (<i>Deuteronomy 10:5</i>). The Ark also carried and represented the spiritual presence of God on Earth. When God spoke to Moses, it was from between the two cherubim which were on the Ark.<br /><br /><b>Numbers 7:89</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And when Moses went into the tent of meeting </span><span style="color: red;"><b>to speak with the Lord, he heard the voice speaking to him from above the mercy seat that was upon the ark</b></span><span style="color: blue;"> of the testimony, from between the two cherubim; and it spoke to him</span>.”<br /><br /><b>Exodus 25:21-22</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, </span><b><span style="color: red;">from between the two cherubim which are upon the ark</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel</span>.”<br /><br />Let’s now look at how the Bible identifies Mary as the Ark of the New Covenant.<br /><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant contained the written word of God (<i><b>Deut. 10:5</b></i>).<br /><br />The Virgin Mary contained the Word of God made flesh, Jesus (<i><b>Jn. 1:1</b></i>).<br /><br />Jesus Christ is the Word of God made flesh (<i><b>John 1:1</b></i>). So, just as the Ark of the Old Covenant contained the written word of God, Mary (<i>who is the Ark of the New Covenant</i>) contained the Word of God made flesh.<br /><br /><b>Apocalypse (<i>Revelation</i>) 19:13&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">And he </span>[Jesus]<span style="color: blue;"> was clothed with a garment sprinkled with blood; and </span><i><span style="color: red;">his name is called, the Word of God</span></i>.”<br /><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant was “<i>overshadowed</i>” by the power and presence of God (<b><i>Exodus 40:34 -35</i></b>).<br /><br />The Virgin Mary was “<i>overshadowed</i>” by the power and presence of the Most High (<b><i>Luke 1:35</i></b>)<br /><br />The tabernacle was constructed to contain the holy Ark (<b><i>Exodus 40:2-3</i></b>). When God would come down upon the tabernacle and the Ark to speak to Moses, we read in <b>Exodus 40:34 - 35</b> that God’s glory cloud or visible presence (<i>called the “<span style="color: blue;">Shekinah</span>”</i>) “<i>overshadowed</i>” it. The rare word which is used to describe how this unique presence of God would “<i>overshadow</i>” the Ark is <i><span style="color: blue;">episkiasei </span></i>in the Greek translation of the Old Testament.<br /><br /><b>Exodus 40:34-35</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting, because the cloud </span><b><span style="color: red;">overshadowed it</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle</span>.”<br /><br />The very same word “<i><span style="color: blue;">episkiasei</span></i>” is used in the Greek of the New Testament to describe how the presence of God will “<i>overshadow</i>” the Virgin Mary. The Bible uses this language only about the Ark and about Mary.<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:35</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the angel answered and said unto her, </span><b><span style="color: red;">The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall <u>overshadow</u> thee</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God</span>.”<br /><br />The clear implication is that the presence of God overshadows Mary and comes down upon her – since she is the New Ark – just as it overshadowed the Ark of the Old Covenant. This reveals that Mary, while just a creature and infinitely less than God, is the new Ark. She thus has a unique connection to God, a unique holiness, sanctification and power.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE AMAZING EVIDENCE FROM 2 SAMUEL 6 AND LUKE 1&nbsp;</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">THAT MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT</span></b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-64tZwMtuYmw/UTyn-ap8p-I/AAAAAAAAPT0/nxuO-haDRb8/s1600/Visitation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-64tZwMtuYmw/UTyn-ap8p-I/AAAAAAAAPT0/nxuO-haDRb8/s320/Visitation.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Visitation</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>Consider the amazing parallels that Scripture gives us between what happened to the Ark of the Old Covenant in <b>2 Samuel 6</b> (<i>2 Kings 6 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible</i>), and what happened to the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, in chapter 1 of Luke’s Gospel. 2 Samuel 6 is the most complete story in the Bible concerning the Ark of the Old Covenant. Luke 1 is the most complete story in the Bible concerning the Blessed Virgin Mary.<br /><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant <b>2 Samuel 6:9</b> – “<span style="color: blue;">David feared the Lord that day and said, </span><b><span style="color: red;">How can the ark of the Lord come to me</span></b>?"<br /><br />The Virgin Mary <b>Luke 1:43</b> –"<span style="color: blue;">[</span><i style="color: blue;">Elizabeth said</i><span style="color: blue;">]: And how does this happen to me, </span><b><span style="color: red;">that the mother of my Lord should come to me</span></b><span style="color: blue;">?</span>"<br /><br />David says: “<span style="color: blue;">How shall the Ark of the Lord come to me</span>?” while Elizabeth asks how is it “<span style="color: blue;">that the mother of my Lord should come to me?</span>” Elizabeth says the same thing to Mary that David said about the Ark because Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. The only difference between the two statements is literally that “<i>mother</i>” is used where Ark was used. The Bible is telling us that the mother of the Lord = the Ark. This is confirmed without any doubt as we carry the story further.<br /><br />David Leapt Before the Ark: <b>2 Samuel 6:16</b> – “<b><span style="color: red;">As the ark of the Lord was entering</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> the City of David, Saul´s daughter Michal looked down through the window and saw </span><b><span style="color: red;">King David leaping and dancing before the Lord…</span></b>”<br /><br />The Infant Leapt in the presence of Mary: <b>Luke 1:41-44</b> – "<span style="color: blue;">And it came to pass, that, </span><b><span style="color: red;">when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb</span></b><span style="color: blue;">; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost… For at the moment the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the infant in my womb </span><b><span style="color: red;">leaped for joy</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.</span>"<br /><br />David leapt before the Ark, just as the infant in Elizabeth’s womb leapt before Mary (<i>the new Ark</i>).<br /><br />The Ark stayed for three months: <b>2 Samuel 6:11</b> – “<b><span style="color: red;">The ark of the Lor</span></b>d remained in the house of Obededom the Gittite <b><span style="color: red;">for three month</span></b>s, and the Lord <u><b><span style="color: red;">blessed</span></b></u> Obededom and his whole house.”<br /><br />Mary (<i>the Ark</i>) stayed for three months: <b>Luke 1:56-57</b> – “<b><span style="color: red;">Mary remained with her about three months</span></b> and then returned to her home. Now Elizabeth's full time of being delivered was come, <u><b><span style="color: red;">and she brought forth a son</span></b></u>. “<br /><br />In 2 Samuel 6, we read that the Ark stayed with Obededom the Gittite for three months. Likewise, in Luke 1, we read that Mary (<i>the Ark of the New Covenant</i>) stayed with Elizabeth for three months.<br /><br />2 Samuel 6:11 also mentions that the Lord blessed Obededom and his house while the Ark was present. “<i>Blessing</i>” in Scripture frequently indicates fruitful offspring. In this fact we see another parallel to Luke 1 and Mary. For Luke 1:57 tells us that after Mary stayed with Elizabeth, the Lord blessed her and her house with the birth of a child, John the Baptist.<br /><br />David set out to fetch the Ark from Judah: <b>2 Samuel 6:2</b> – “<span style="color: blue;">Then David and all the people who were with him </span><b><span style="color: red;">set out for Baala of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, which bears the name of the Lord of hosts enthroned above the cherubim</span>.”<br /><br />This occurred when Mary (<i>the Ark</i>) went to Judah: <b>Luke 1:39-40</b> – “<span style="color: blue;">During those days </span><b><span style="color: red;">Mary set out</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and traveled to the hill country in haste </span><b><span style="color: red;">to a town of Judah</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth</span>.”<br /><br />As we read here, these incredible parallels occurred when David set out for the hill country of Judah to fetch the Ark (<b><i>2 Samuel 6:2</i></b>), and when Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, went to the hill country of Judah (<b><i>Luke 1:39</i></b>).<br /><br />The Book of Revelation (<i>Apocalypse</i>) also indicates that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant:<br /><br /><b>Revelation 11:19,12-1</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail. [</span><i style="color: blue;">12:1</i><span style="color: blue;">] </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars</span>.”<br /><br />The Bible was not written with any chapters or verses indicated. It wasn’t until the 12th century that the Bible was divided into chapters and verses. Therefore, the author of Revelation, St. John the Apostle, wrote what begins chapter 12 in one continuous stream immediately after what ends chapter 11. At the end of chapter 11, we read that the Ark of Jesus’ testament/covenant was seen in Heaven. The very next verse is <b>Revelation 12:1</b>. Therefore, the words which end chapter 11 flow immediately into the words which begin chapter 12, without any division.<br /><br />That means that the appearance of the Ark of Jesus’ covenant at the very end of chapter 11 – “<i>the ark of his testament was seen in his temple</i>” (<b><i>Rev. 11:19</i></b>) – is immediately explained by the vision of “<i>the woman</i>” clothed with the sun which begins chapter twelve, the very next verse (<b><i>Rev. 12:1</i></b>). This indicates that “<i>the woman</i>” clothed with the sun, who bore the Divine Person in her womb (<i>the Virgin Mary</i>), is the Ark of the New Testament.<br /><br />The Ark contained the manna from the desert: <b>Hebrews 9:4</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">… the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, </span><b><span style="color: red;">wherein was the golden pot that had manna</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and Aaron's rod that budded, and the tables of the covenant</span>.”<br /><br />Mary contained the manna from Heaven, Jesus: <b>John 6:48-51&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">I am that bread of life. </span><b><span style="color: red;">Your fathers did eat manna</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. </span><b><span style="color: red;">I am the living bread</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> which came down from heaven… and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world</span>.”<br /><br />There can be no doubt that the manna in the desert (<i>Exodus 16</i>) prefigured Jesus as the Bread of Life. Jesus makes a connection between the two in John chapter 6. He makes reference to the manna in the desert, and then says that His flesh is the true manna from Heaven. Well, the manna from the desert <i><span style="color: red;"><b>was placed inside the Ark</b></span></i> of the Old Covenant. That prefigures Jesus Christ Himself (<i>the true manna of the New Testament</i>) <i><span style="color: red;"><b>being contained within Mary</b></span></i>, the Mother of Jesus.<br /><br />In <b>Hebrews 9:4</b>, we also see that the rod of Aaron was placed within the Ark of the Old Covenant. In Numbers 17, we read that this rod budded to prove the true high-priest. The rod of Aaron thus signified the true high-priest. In the New Testament, Jesus is described as the true high-priest.<br /><br /><b>Hebrews 3:1</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and </span><b><span style="color: red;">High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus</span></b>.”<br /><br />Also see <b>Hebrews 6:20</b>, <b>Hebrews 9:11</b>, and other passages for more proof that Jesus is the true high-priest. The inescapable conclusion is that Aaron’s rod being placed within the Ark prefigured Jesus Christ, the true high-priest, being contained within Mary (<i>the Ark of the New Covenant</i>).<br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">There is absolutely no doubt that the New Testament indicates that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant</span></b>. This evidence is undeniable.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">SINCE MARY IS THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT, THAT MEANS THAT SHE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">IS THE MOST SACRED THING ON EARTH OUTSIDE OF JESUS CHRIST</span></b></div><br />The Ark of the Covenant was the holiest thing on Earth outside of the presence of God Himself. The Ark was contained in the tabernacle, within the holy of holies. The Ark’s presence is what made the holy of holies so sacred.<br /><br /><b>2 Chronicles</b> <i>(or 2 Paralipomenon</i>) <b>35:3</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">Put the holy ark</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build</span>.”<br /><br />The Ark was so holy that when the people of God followed it they had to keep a respectful distance.<br /><br /><b>Josue 3:3-5</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">When you shall see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests of the race of Levi carrying it, rise you up also, and follow them as they go before</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: And let there be between you and the ark the space of two thousand cubits: that you may see it afar off, and know which way you must go: for you have not gone this way before: </span><b><span style="color: red;">and take care you come not&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: red;">near the ark</span></b>.”<br /><br />People who unlawfully touched the Ark were killed.<br /><br /><b>2 Samuel 6:6-7</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">Oza put forth his hand to the ark of God</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and took hold of it: because the oxen kicked and made it lean aside. And the indignation of the Lord was enkindled against Oza, and he struck him for his rashness: </span><b><span style="color: red;">and he died there before the ark of God</span></b>.”<br /><br />The men of Bethshemesh were killed because they had dared to look into the Ark.<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 6:19</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And </span><b><span style="color: red;">he smote the men of Bethshemesh, because they had looked into the ark of the Lord</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, even he smote of the people fifty thousand and threescore and ten men...</span>”<br /><br />We see how sacred God considered the object which was to come into close contact with His spiritual presence.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">SINCE MARY IS THE NEW ARK, SHE HAD TO BE HOLY AND CREATED&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">WITHOUT SIN</span></b></div><br />God gave the most precise specifications for the construction of the Ark. He ordered that it be made with the most pure gold.<br /><br /><b>Exodus 25:10-13,24</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">And they shall make an ark of <i>setim </i>wood</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof. </span><b><span style="color: red;">And thou shalt overlay it with pure gold</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, within and without shalt thou overlay it, and shalt make upon it a crown of gold round about. And thou shalt cast four rings of gold for it, and put them in the&nbsp;</span><span style="color: blue;">four corners thereof; and two rings shall be in the one side of it, and two rings in the other side of it. And thou shalt make staves of <i>setim </i>wood, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and overlay them with gold…</span></b>”<br /><br />It’s interesting that the Ark not only had to be overlaid with gold all around, but there is a specific reference to it having a “<i><span style="color: red;"><b>crown of gold</b></span> </i>round about.”<br /><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant had a gold crown: <b>Exodus 25:11&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">And thou… shalt make upon it </span><b><span style="color: red;">a crown of gold round about</span></b>.”<br /><br />The Virgin Mary (<i>the New Ark</i>) also has a crown: <b>Apocalypse 12:1</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; </span><b><span style="color: red;">a woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head </span><b><span style="color: red;">a crown</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of twelve stars</span>.”<br /><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant had to be perfect and holy because it was the seat of God’s unique spiritual presence. God’s holiness could not be tarnished by contact with that which had defects. Likewise and to a greater degree, the Virgin Mary, as the new Ark and bearer of Jesus Christ, had to be created without sin and in a state of perfection.<br /><br />She did not merely contain the spiritual presence of God, but Jesus Christ (<i>God Himself</i>). She did not merely contain the written word of God, but the Word of God made flesh (<b><i>John 1:1</i></b>). Consequently, Mary must be perfect. She must be free from all sin. She must be an ever-virgin and untouched by man.<br /><br />If the Ark of the Old Covenant, which contained the written tables of the Law and was overshadowed by the spiritual presence of God, had to be overlaid with the most pure gold and had to be constructed according to the most precise specifications of God, how much greater is God’s construction of Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant? The fulfillment is greater than the type. Mary, the Ark of the New Covenant, must be and is greater than the Ark of the Old Covenant.<br /><br />Just like the Ark of the Old Covenant, Mary must also have tremendous power over the Devil and God’s enemies. She must have a unique power of intercession with God, in bringing down His blessings and in aiding the people of God, just as the Ark of the Old Covenant did.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">JUST LIKE THE ARK OF THE OLD COVENANT, MARY HAS A UNIQUE POWER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">OF INTERCESSION; SHE HAS AWESOME POWER OVER GOD’S ENEMIES, OVER</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE DEVIL AND IN AIDING THE PEOPLE OF GOD</span></b></div><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant had awe-striking power. When it was taken by the Philistines, extraordinary things happened to them and to their false god, Dagon.<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 5:1-5</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the Philistines took the ark of God, and carried it from the Stone of help into Azotus. And the Philistines took the ark of God, and brought it into the temple of Dagon, and set it by Dagon. And when the Azotians arose early the next day, </span><b><span style="color: red;">behold Dagon lay upon his face on the ground before the ark of the Lord</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: and they took Dagon, and set him again in his place. And the next day again, when they rose in the morning, </span><b><span style="color: red;">they found Dagon lying upon his face on the earth before the ark of the Lord: and the head of Dagon, and both the palms of his hands were cut off upon the threshold</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: And only the stump of Dagon remained in its place. For this cause neither the priests of Dagon, nor any that go into the temple tread on the threshold of Dagon in Azotus unto this day</span>.”<br /><br />The Philistines began to be destroyed for having taken the Ark. This prompted them to return the Ark to their enemies, the Israelites.<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 5:7</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the men of Azotus seeing this kind of plague, said: </span><b><span style="color: red;">The ark of the God of Israel shall not stay with us</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: for his hand is heavy upon us, and upon Dagon our god</span>.”<br /><br />The Ark struck mortal terror into the face of God’s enemies.<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 5:10</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And when the ark of God was come into Accaron, </span><span style="color: red;"><b>the Accaronites cried out, saying: They have brought the ark of the God of Israel to us, to kill us and our people</b></span>.”<br /><br />The waters of the Jordan were miraculously dried up by the Ark.<br /><br /><b>Josue 3:13-14</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">[<i>And the Lord said to Josue</i>]: And when the priests, that carry the ark of the Lord the God of the whole earth, shall set the soles of their feet in the waters of the Jordan, the waters that are beneath shall run down and go off: and those that come from above, shall stand together upon a heap. So the people went out of their tents, to pass over the Jordan: and the priests that carried the ark of the covenant went on before them...</span>”<br /><br />Mary, the New Ark, has this power and even more; for the fulfillment is greater than the type, and the New Testament is greater than the Old. We must now cover more biblical evidence for Catholic teachings on Mary.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE EARTH FROM WHICH ADAM WAS CREATED IS A TYPE OF MARY AND</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">HER PRESERVATION FROM SIN (HER IMMACULATE CONCEPTION)</span></b></div><br />We’ve established that Jesus Christ is the new Adam. Adam was formed from the Earth or ground.<br /><br /><b>Genesis 2:7</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground [<i>adamah</i>]</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul</span>.”<br /><br />The Hebrew word for “<i>ground</i>” is Adamah. It’s a feminine noun. Adam is so named because he came from the <i>Adamah</i>; his name means son of the ground, son of the <i>Adamah</i>. (<i>This point was made by Gerry Matatics, Biblical Foundations International, Dunmore, PA.</i>)<br /><br />This point could be developed, but it’s clear that, on a certain level, the Earth from which Adam was created is a type of Mary. The first Adam was created by God <b><i><span style="color: red;">from the ground</span></i></b>, and the second Adam (<i>Jesus Christ</i>) took flesh <b><i><span style="color: red;">from Mary</span></i></b>, His mother. So the question is: <b><span style="color: red;">what was the state of the Earth when it was created?</span></b><br /><br /><b>Genesis 1:31</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">God saw everything that he had made, and, behold, it was very good</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;">. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day</span>.”<br /><br />The Earth from which the first Adam was formed – and indeed the entirety of God’s creation before the fall – <b><span style="color: red;">was completely uncursed, unfallen and perfect</span></b>. Sin and curse had no place in it.<br /><br />Mary, who gives birth to the second and greater Adam (<i>Jesus Christ</i>), must likewise be completely uncursed, unfallen and perfect. She must be preserved from all stain of sin and from the curse of original sin. That’s called the Immaculate Conception.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">ONLY MARY AND HER SINLESSNESS COMPLETELY FULFILL WHAT IS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">PREDICTED IN GENESIS 3:15 –“I WILL PUT ENMITY BETWEEN THEE [THE</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">SERPENT] AND THE WOMAN…”</span></b></div><br />Shortly after the fall of Adam and Eve, God makes this prophecy.<br /><br />Genesis 3:14-15 - “<span style="color: blue;">And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">And I will put enmity between thee and the woman</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, </span><i><b><span style="color: red;">and between thy seed and her seed</span></b></i><span style="color: blue;">; she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel</span>.”<b><span style="color: red;">1</span></b><br /><br />God says that there will be enmity – hostility, division, opposition – between the Devil and “<i>the woman</i>.” In the same context we read of the seed of the woman, and the victory which will be granted through the woman and her seed. In the Bible, a man’s children and descendants are spoken of as his seed. The seed of the woman, therefore, is something unique. It refers to a child which is produced by a woman alone. This obviously refers to the virginal conception and birth from the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Jesus’ mother. The “<i>seed</i>” of the woman refers to Jesus Christ.<br /><br />Therefore, <b><span style="color: red;">the woman herein identified as having opposition or enmity with the serpent is clearly Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ</span></b>. The woman is not Eve, who gave in to the serpent. It is Mary.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">God says that He will put enmity or opposition between the serpent and the woman. As a result, Mary must be completely preserved from sin</span></b>. For when one sins, one does not have opposition to the Devil, but rather gives in to the Devil. The only way the woman could have complete and definitive opposition to the serpent is by preservation from sin and from the sin of Adam.<br /><br />The fact that Mary is this “<i>woman</i>,” and therefore completely free from the domination of sin and the Devil, is the reason that Jesus calls Mary “<i>woman</i>” throughout the New Testament. Jesus never calls His mother anything but “<i>woman</i>.” Many non-Catholics think this was Jesus’ way of belittling His mother and downplaying her role; on the contrary, <b><span style="color: red;">Jesus was identifying Mary as the “<i>woman</i>” of Genesis 3:15</span></b>.<br /><br /><b>Genesis 3:15</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">And I will put enmity between thee and the woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and between thy seed and her seed; she shall crush thy head and thou shalt lie in wait for her hee</span>l.”<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5iqDcWqsi2M/UTy4ekwll1I/AAAAAAAAPUE/_nEArxeX95A/s1600/Wedding+at+Cana.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5iqDcWqsi2M/UTy4ekwll1I/AAAAAAAAPUE/_nEArxeX95A/s320/Wedding+at+Cana.jpg" width="257" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Wedding at Cana</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>John 2:3-5</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the wine failing, the mother of Jesus saith to him: They have no wine. And </span><b><span style="color: red;">Jesus saith to her: Woman</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, what is that to me and to thee? My hour is not yet come. His mother saith to the waiters: Whatsoever he shall say to you, do ye</span>.”<br /><br />Some superficial readings of <b>John 2:3-5</b> have left people with the impression that Jesus is rebuking His mother at the wedding of Cana. However, it actually reveals the power of Mary’s intercession with Jesus. Jesus said that His hour had not yet come; in other words, it was not yet the time for Him to reveal His miraculous powers. It was His design to wait longer. Nevertheless, at the urging of His mother, who had compassion on the newly married couple, Jesus worked the miracle anyway. <b><span style="color: red;">He worked this (<i>His first</i>) miracle at the urging of His mother, even though His hour “<i>had not yet come</i></span></b>.” This is an excellent example of how graces are obtained from Jesus through Mary – graces which He might not otherwise be inclined to give.<br /><br />Many non-Catholics also object that if Mary is so crucial, why would Jesus allow the Gospel writers to perhaps give the impression that He was belittling the place of His mother? They contend that certain verses give that impression, or don’t do much to dispel that notion. The answer is that God does not cast pearls before swine (<b><i>Matthew 7:</i>6</b>). He often slightly conceals His truths, or puts them just under the surface, so that superficial efforts or insincere people will pass over them or be left with the wrong impression. However, those who are more patient and dig deeper – or who simply trust the Church which Jesus established – will find the gem and the true meaning.<br /><br /><b>Luke 8:8-10</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And his disciples asked him what this parable might be. To whom he said: </span><b><span style="color: red;">To you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; <u>but to the rest in parables, that seeing they may not see, and hearing may not understand</u></span></b>.”<br /><br />This is so very true in the case of the Bible’s teaching on Mary’s profound role. Superficial readings and insincere efforts will keep people blind to it. But it’s there in Scripture. Mary is the new Eve and the woman of <b>Genesis 3:15</b>, as we have seen. She is also the Ark of the New Covenant and much more, as we will see. It’s all there in the biblical typology and in many passages more deeply understood; but so many remain oblivious to it. Seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not. Having failed to trust the one Church which Christ established, they have sadly acquired only a shallow and misguided understanding of the Bible’s teaching.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-BUBjOBOUI/UTy7kCK6MmI/AAAAAAAAPUM/7H8FhzM8m2k/s1600/The+Apostle+John+and+Mary+at+the+foot+of+the+Cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-M-BUBjOBOUI/UTy7kCK6MmI/AAAAAAAAPUM/7H8FhzM8m2k/s400/The+Apostle+John+and+Mary+at+the+foot+of+the+Cross.jpg" width="245" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Apostle John with the Blessed Virgin Mary<br />at the foot&nbsp;of the Cross</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>John 19:26</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: </span><b><span style="color: red;">Woman, behold thy son</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>And from that hour, the disciple [</b><b><i>John</i>] took her to his own</b></span>.”<br /><br />Though other women were at the foot of the cross, Jesus singles out His mother. Jesus again calls her nothing other than “woman” because she is the woman of <b>Genesis 3:15</b>: the one in complete opposition to the serpent. Jesus also calls for St. John to take His mother for his own.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY’S SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD, AND THE ALMIGHTY HATH DONE&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">GREAT THINGS TO HER</span></b></div><br />In Luke 1, we see a glimpse of the unique privileges that God has bestowed upon Mary.<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:46-50</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Mary said: </span><b><span style="color: red;">My soul doth magnify the Lord.</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; for behold </span><b><span style="color: red;">from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> Because </span><b><span style="color: red;">he that is mighty, hath done great things to me</span></b><span style="color: blue;">; and holy is his name. And his mercy is from generation unto generations, to them that fear him</span>.”<br /><br />The Bible says that Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord; it doesn’t diminish Him. Mary doesn’t detract from Jesus, but leads people to Jesus. The Ark of the Old Covenant signified God’s power and presence. When it was in their presence, it stirred them to devotion, to confidence, and to love of the Almighty. In a similar, but yet greater way, Mary, the new Ark, directs and centers us powerfully around Jesus Christ. Everything Mary has and everything Mary is comes from being the mother of Jesus Christ. He did great things to her by preserving her from sin.<br /><br />One should also make a special note of <b>Luke 1:48</b>, in which Mary prophesies that “<i>all generations shall call</i>” her “<i>blessed</i>.” This is a prophecy about the Catholic prayer the Hail Mary. For generations Catholics have prayed: “<i><span style="color: blue;">Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee,</span> <b><span style="color: red;">blessed art thou among women</span></b>, <span style="color: blue;">and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen</span></i>.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE SAYS THAT MARY IS “FULL OF GRACE,” WHICH MEANS WITHOUT SIN</span></b></div><br /><b>Luke 1:27-31</b>&nbsp;- “<b><span style="color: red;">… and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel being come in, said unto her: <u>Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. Who having heard, was troubled at his saying, and thought within herself what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and shalt bring forth a son; and thou shalt call his name Jesus</span>.”<br /><br />Modern Protestant Bibles do not translate <b>Luke 1:28</b> as “<i>Hail, full of grace</i>.” They have: “<i>Rejoice highly favored daughter</i>” or something similar. The Protestant translations are wrong. There are a number of simple ways to show that they are wrong. The word in the original Greek is <i>kecharitomene</i>. This word is directly concerned with the idea of "<i>grace</i>." Greek scholars point out that <i>kecharitomene </i>comes from the root word <i>charis</i>, which has a literal meaning of “<i>grace</i>.” Out of about 150 appearances, the King James (<i>a Protestant Bible</i>) translates <i>charis </i>as “<i>grace</i>” 129 times.<br /><br />It’s also extremely important to note that early Protestant translations had <b>Luke 1:28</b> as “<i>full of grace</i>” or the equivalent. Famous Protestant William Tyndale (1494-1536) is considered to be a hero among some Protestants. His version of the Bible was translated into early modern English around 1525. Tyndale translated <b>Luke 1:28</b> as: “<i>Hayle full of grace ye Lorde is with ye: blessed arte thou amonge wemen</i>.” (<a href="http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/">http://wesley.nnu.edu/biblical_studies/tyndale/</a>). The English Protestant Thomas Cranmer (1489-1556) also rendered the passage as “<i>full of grace</i>.”<br /><br />St. Jerome (<i>A.D. 347-42</i>0) was the biblical scholar of the ancient Church. Even the Protestant translators of the 1611 King James Bible called St. Jerome “<i>a most learned father, and the best linguist without controversy, of his age, or of any that went before him</i>” (<i>From the Translators' Preface to the 1611 KJV</i>). St. Jerome translated "<i>kecharitomene</i>" as "<i>gratiae plena</i>" meaning “<i><b><span style="color: red;">full of grace</span></b> which thou hast received</i>" in the Latin Vulgate. “<i>Grace</i>” was also accepted as the proper translation in the Rheims New Testament in 1582.<br /><br />The <i>Word Pictures of the New Testament</i>, by the famous Protestant Greek scholar A.T. Robertson, says this about <b>Luke 1:28</b>:<br /><br />“Highly favoured (<i>kecaritwmenh</i>). Perfect passive participle of <i>caritow </i>and means endowed with grace (<i>cariß</i>), enriched with grace as in <b>Ephesians 1:6</b>… <b><span style="color: red;">The Vulgate <i>gratiae plena</i> "is right, if it means 'full of grace which thou hast received'</span></b>; wrong, if it means 'full of grace which thou hast to bestow.” (Robertson, <i>Word Pictures of the New Testament</i>, Luke 1:28.)<br /><br />If Mary is “<i>full of grac</i>e,” that in itself strongly suggests that she is without sin. For grace is in opposition to sin. The angel is not saying that Mary will become full of grace, but that he has encountered Mary already in that state. She was conceived in that state. Moreover, Mary is pronounced “<i>blessed among women</i>” because her position is unique.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY WAS A PERPETUAL VIRGIN</span></b></div><br />We’ve seen that Mary is the new Eve and the Ark of the New Covenant. Now we must look at the biblical evidence for Mary’s perpetual virginity. Most Protestants of our day reject the perpetual virginity of Mary; they think it contradicts the Bible. <b><span style="color: red;">Many of them will be shocked to find out that the first Protestants, including Martin Luther, John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli and others all believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary</span></b>. The idea that Mary ceased to be a virgin and had other children besides Jesus was invented many generations after the original Protestant “<i>reformation</i>.” Thus, the Protestant position on this matter not only contradicts ancient Catholic tradition and the Bible (as we will see), but their own Protestant “<i>tradition</i>.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MATTHEW 1:25 DOES NOT DISPROVE MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY</span></b></div><br />The first thing that Protestants usually quote against Mary’s perpetual virginity is <b>Matthew 1:25</b>.<br /><br /><b>Matthew 1:24-25</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus</span>.”<br /><br />According to Protestants, this proves that Mary ceased to be a virgin after the birth of Jesus. This is quite wrong. The Greek word for "<i>until</i>" or “<i>till</i>” (<i>heos</i>) does not imply that Joseph had marital relations with Mary after the birth of Jesus Christ. It simply means that they had no relations up to that point, without saying anything about what happened after that point. This is proven below by many passages. We should also bear in mind that the Bible was written several thousand years ago. It was written at a time and in languages which don’t express and imply things the same way that they would be expressed and implied in modern English.<br /><br />For instance, in <b>2 Samuel 6:23</b> (<i>2 Kings 6:23 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible</i>), we read that God cursed Michal, David’s wife. He cursed her because she mocked David for the manner in which he rejoiced before the Ark of the Covenant. As a result, Michal had no children “<i>until</i>” the day of her death.<br /><br /><b>2 Samuel 6:23</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Therefore </span><b><span style="color: red;">Michal</span></b> <span style="color: blue;">the daughter of Saul</span> <u><b><span style="color: red;">had no child until the day of her death</span></b></u>.”<br /><br />Does this mean that Michal started having children after her death? Obviously it does not. This verse demonstrates <span style="color: red;"><b>that when Scripture describes something as being true “<i>until</i>” or “<i>before</i>” a certain point, <i>it doesn’t necessarily mean that it ceased to be true after that point</i></b></span>. Here are numerous other examples of this:<br /><br /><b>Hebrews 1:13</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">But to which of the angels said he at any time, </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">Sit on my right hand, until</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> I make thine enemies thy footstool?</span>”<br /><br />This refers to the Son of God. Does this mean that He will cease to sit at the right hand of the Father after God’s enemies are made His footstool? Obviously it does not. He will remain at the right hand of God the Father.<br /><br /><b>1 Timothy 4:13</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">Till I come</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine</span>.”<br /><br />Does this mean that they should abandon reading and doctrine after he comes? Obviously it does not.<br /><br /><b>Acts 23:1</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Paul, earnestly beholding the council, said, Men and brethren,</span><b><span style="color: red;"> I have lived in all good conscience before God <u>until</u> this day</span></b>.”<br /><br />Does this mean that Paul necessarily ceased to have a good conscience after that day? Obviously it does not.<br /><br />The preposition “<i>before</i>” can be used the same way.<br /><br /><b>John 4:49</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Come down </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">before</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> my child dies</span>.”<br /><br />Here we see that the word “<i>before</i>” can be used in a similar manner to the word “<i>until</i>.” This child did not die; Jesus healed him (<b><u>John 4:50</u></b>). Thus, the statement in <b>Matthew 1:18</b>, which is quoted below, that Mary was with child “<i>before</i>” she and Joseph came together, doesn’t mean that they came together after she was with child. It simply means that she was pregnant without any sexual contact.<br /><br /><b>Matthew 1:18</b> - “Now the generation of Christ was in this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, <u><b><span style="color: red;">before they came together</span></b></u>, she was found with child, of the Holy Ghost.”<br /><br />It’s quite certain, therefore, that <b>Matthew 1:25</b> and <b>Matthew 1:18</b> do not contradict Mary’s perpetual virginity in any way. Protestants cannot legitimately claim that these passages constitute proof that Mary ceased to be a virgin. These passages do not prove her perpetual virginity, either. Her perpetual virginity is proven by other things in the Bible.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">WHAT ABOUT THE “FIRSTBORN” SON – DOESN’T THAT IMPLY OTHER&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">CHILDREN?</span></b></div><br /><b>Luke 2:7</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And she brought forth her </span><b><span style="color: red;">firstborn</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> son; and she wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn</span>.”<br /><br /><b>Matthew 1:25</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus</span>.”<br /><br />“<i>Firstborn son</i>” is a legal title given to a first-born male child in a Jewish family: in other words, it is given to a male child who is also the first child.<br /><br />God specifically commanded the Israelites to sanctify (<i>i.e., set apart</i>) their first-born sons for a special consecration and service to God. The title “<i>first-born son</i>” held additional importance because it entitled that child to a double portion of the inheritance (Deut. 21:17). <b><span style="color: red;">This title of “<i>first-born son</i>” was given to the child regardless of whether the woman had any other children after him</span></b>. As an example: “we can see this from a Greek tomb inscription at <i>Tel el Yaoudieh</i> (<i>cf."Biblica" 11, 1930 369-90</i>) for a mother who died in childbirth: ‘In the pain of delivering my firstborn child, destiny brought me to the end of life.’” (<i>Quoted in “Brothers and Sisters of Jesus,” by William Most</i>)<br /><br />In Exodus 13 and 34, we read about God’s prescription that the first-born be consecrated to Him. There was a ceremony for the “<i>sanctification of the firstborn</i>” (<b><i>Exodus 13 and 34:20</i></b>). It’s not as if they postponed the ceremony for the “<i>first-born son</i>” until after the woman had a second child.<br /><br /><b>Exodus 13:2,12</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Sanctify unto me all the firstborn, whatsoever openeth the womb among the children of Israel, both of man and of beast: it is mine… Thou shalt set apart all that openeth the womb for the Lord, and all that is first brought forth of thy cattle: whatsoever thou shalt have of the male sex, thou shalt consecrate to the Lord</span>.”<br /><br />Thus, the statement that Jesus was the “<i>first-born son</i>” of Mary (<b><i>Luke 2:7</i></b>) does not in any way contradict Mary’s perpetual virginity. It simply means that He was her first and male child. It says nothing about whether any came later.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">WHAT ABOUT THE “BROTHERS” OF JESUS?</span></b></div><br />Non-Catholics often bring up the passages which mention the “<i>brothers and sisters</i>” of Jesus. First of all, it must be mentioned that never once are these “<i>brothers</i>” described as the children of Mary, Jesus’ mother.<br /><br /><b>Mark 6:3</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him</span>.”<br /><br /><b>Matthew 13:5</b>5 - “<span style="color: blue;">Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas</span>?”<br /><br />In the original Greek the words used are <i>adelphoi </i>(“<i>brethren</i>”) and <i>adelphe </i>(“<i>sisters</i>”). The words <i>adelphoi </i>and <i>adelphe </i>can refer to actual siblings. However, <b><span style="color: red;">the Bible also uses these words to describe people who are not brothers, but cousins or relatives or step brothers or close neighbors</span></b>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE SAYS THAT ABRAHAM WAS LOT’S BROTHER, BUT HE WASN’T&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">LITERALLY</span></b></div><br />Lot was Abraham’s nephew. Abraham was his uncle (<i>see <b>Genesis 11:31; 14:12</b></i>). Yet, the Bible twice describes Lot as Abraham’s “<i>brother</i>.” That’s because the word “<i>brother</i>” doesn’t necessarily mean a sibling. As stated above, it can mean a cousin or a relative or a step-brother or a close family friend.<br /><br /><b>Genesis 14:14</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Which when Abram had heard, to wit, </span><b><span style="color: red;">that his brother Lot</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> was taken...</span>”<br /><br />Lot was Abraham’s nephew:<br /><br /><b>Gen.11:27</b> - "<span style="color: blue;">Now these are the generations of Terah: </span><b><span style="color: red;">Terah begat Abram</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, Nahor, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and Haran</span></b><span style="color: blue;">; and </span><b><span style="color: red;">Haran begat Lot</span></b>."<br /><br /><b>Gen.12: 5&nbsp;</b>- "<span style="color: blue;">And Abram took Sarai his wife, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and Lot his brother's son....</span></b>"<br /><br /><b>Gen.14:12</b> - "<span style="color: blue;">And they took </span><b><span style="color: red;">Lot, Abram's brother's son</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, who dwelt in Sodom, and his goods, and departed</span>."<br /><br />The Bible also calls him his “<i>brother</i>”:<br /><br /><b>Gen.14:14</b> - "<span style="color: blue;">And when Abram heard that </span><b><span style="color: red;">his brother [Lot]</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> was taken captive ...</span>."<br /><br /><b>Gen.14:16</b> - "<span style="color: blue;">And also brought again </span><b><span style="color: red;">his brother Lot....</span></b>"<br /><br />Some Protestants attempt to respond to this by arguing that the Old Testament was not written in Greek, but Hebrew. Therefore, they say, the case of Lot doesn’t prove that <i>adelphos </i>can refer to a person who is not literally a brother. This is refuted by pointing out that while the Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew, it was famously translated into Greek by seventy scholars a few centuries before the coming of Christ. This famous translation is called the <i>Septuagint</i>.<br /><br />This Greek translation of the Old Testament, the <i>Septuagint</i>, is quoted about 300 times by the inspired writers of the New Testament. That means that the New Testament writers accepted the <i>Septuagint</i>. <b><span style="color: red;">In the <i>Septuagint</i>, the same Greek word <i>adelphos </i>is used to describe Lot as Abraham’s brother</span></b>. <i>Adelphos </i>is the singular form of <i>adelphoi</i>, the word used in the New Testament for the “<i>brothers</i>” of Jesus. Therefore, the Old Testament does use <i>adelphos </i>to describe someone who is not literally a brother.<br /><br />But the point can also be proven from the New Testament. <b><span style="color: red;">In Acts 3:17 and Romans 9:3, we see that <i>adelphoi </i>(<i>brothers</i>) is used to describe people of the same nationality who are not siblings</span></b>. Consider these verses to be the death-blow to the Protestant argument in this regard.<br /><br />Moreover, in <b>Luke 10:29</b>, <b>Matthew 5:22</b> and <b>Matthew 7:3</b>, we see that <i>adelphos </i>(“<i>brother</i>”) is used for neighbor, not necessarily sibling.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">BUT THERE IS A GREEK WORD FOR COUSIN, ANEPSIOS; IF THE BRETHREN OF</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">JESUS WERE COUSINS, RATHER THAN BROTHERS, WHY WASN’T ANEPSIOS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">USED?</span></b></div><br />The Catholic Church teaches that Mary is ever-virgin and had no other children. The Catholic Church does not teach that all the “<i>brethren</i>” of Jesus were necessarily His cousins. They may have been extended relatives or close friends or people considered part of the family by marriage or law or homeland. For instance, in <b>2 Samuel 1:26</b>, King David calls Jonathan his “<i>brother</i>.” Jonathan and David were not brothers or cousins. David had married Jonathan’s sister, Michal, the daughter of King Saul. So David married into the family.<br /><br />The number of Jesus’ “<i>brothers</i>” (<i>adelphoi</i>) mentioned in the Bible seems to suggest that some of them were not even extended relatives, but considered part of the family in other ways. If even one or a few of them were not cousins, but more extended relatives or neighbors or close family friends, then the word <i>adelphoi </i>would have been used. <b><span style="color: red;">Therefore, the fact that the word for cousin was not used does not in any way prove that Mary had other children</span></b>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">EVIDENCE FROM MATTHEW 27:56 SHOWS THAT THE “BROTHERS” OF JESUS&nbsp;</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">WERE NOT HIS SIBLINGS</span></b></div><br /><b>Matthew 13:55</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? </span><b style="color: red;">And his brethren, James, and Joses, </b><span style="color: blue;">and Simon, and Judas?</span>”<br /><br />James and Joses are two of the names given as “<i>brothers</i>” of Jesus. It can be shown, by the following points, that these were children of another woman and not siblings of Jesus. Please follow this carefully.<br /><br />There were three women at the foot of the Cross: 1) the Blessed Virgin Mary (<i>the mother of Jesus</i>); 2) Mary the wife of Cleophas (<i>who is said to be the Blessed Virgin Mary’s sister</i>); and 3) Mary Magdalene.<br /><br /><b>John 19:25</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Now there stood by the cross of Jesus [1] his mother, and [2] his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and [3] Mary Magdalene</span>.”<br /><br />Mary, the wife of Cleophas, is also described as “<i>the other Mary</i>” in <b>Matthew 28:1</b>. The Bible tells us that James and Joses are the children of this Mary:<br /><br /><b>Matthew 27:56</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Among which was Mary Magdalene, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and Mary the mother of James and Joses</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and the mother of Zebedees children</span>.”<br /><br />Thus, James and Joses (<i>who are called the “brothers” of Jesus</i>) are not His siblings, but at least His cousins. However, they are probably not even first cousins. This is because Mary of Cleophas (<i>the mother of James and Joses</i>), who is said to be the “<i>sister</i>” of Jesus’ mother (<b><i>John 19:25</i></b>), is also named Mary. It’s extremely unlikely that two siblings in a Hebrew family would be given the same name. Most likely they were not sisters, but members of the same clan who were called “<i>sisters</i>” in the same way that James, Joses, Simon and Judas were called “<i>brothers</i>” of Jesus. All of this shows that none of the statements in the Bible about the brothers and sisters of Jesus disproves, in any way, the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Now we must look at the proof that Mary had no other children and that she was perpetually a virgin.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">JOHN 19:26 PROVES THAT MARY HAD NO CHILDREN BESIDES JESUS</span></b></div><br />While dying on the Cross, Jesus entrusts His mother to the care of St. John the Apostle.<br /><br /><b>John 19:26-27&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: </span><b><span style="color: red;">Woman, behold thy son</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. After that, </span><b><span style="color: red;">he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>And <u>from that hour, the disciple [</u></b><u><b><i>John</i>] took her to his own</b></u></span>.”<br /><br />Scholars point out that this was a formal act of entrustment. (<i>Gerry Matatics, Op. cit</i>.) Jesus entrusted His mother to St. John so that he would take care of her. If Mary had other children, as Protestants contend, Jesus would not have told St. John to take Mary for his mother. She would have been put into the care of one of his many “<i>brothers</i>.” The fact that Jesus entrusted Mary to St. John proves that she had no other children.<br /><br />Protestants try to respond to this by arguing that Jesus’ “<i>brothers</i>” were not believers and that’s why Jesus entrusted her to St. John. However, that’s refuted by <b>Acts 1:14</b>. It indicates that Jesus’ “<i>brothers</i>” were believers. Jesus certainly knew that they were or would become believers and hence He would not have entrusted her to St. John if they were His siblings.<br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">It’s also quite significant that when Jesus was found in the temple at 12 years old, there is no indication whatsoever that Mary and Joseph had other children</span></b> (<b><i>Luke 2:41-51</i></b>). The indication is that He is an only child. He is also referred to as “<i>the son of Mary</i>” (<b><i>Mark 6:3</i></b>), not as a son of Mary. Never once is Mary said to have had other children.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY’S RESPONSE TO THE ANGEL IN LUKE 1 INDICATES THAT SHE HAD</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">TAKEN A VOW OF PERPETUAL VIRGINITY</span></b></div><br /><b>Luke 1:30-34</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, </span><b><span style="color: red;">behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be</u>, seeing I know not man?</span></b>”<br /><br />The angel appears to Mary and tells her that she will conceive and bring forth a son. Mary responds by saying: “<i>How shall this be, seeing I know not man?</i>” The actual meaning is: how shall this be since I am a virgin. How shall this be? Mary understood how children were conceived. Her response only makes sense if she had taken a lifelong vow of virginity. She was asking how she could conceive while a virgin.<br /><br />It should also be pointed out that Mary’s engagement to Joseph doesn’t contradict the notion that she had taken such a vow. Moral behavior at the time dictated that women committed to virginity have a male protector who would guard and respect the vow. That was Joseph’s role.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">IT’S UNIMAGINABLE THAT THE ARK OF THE NEW COVENANT WOULD HAVE&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">SEXUAL CONTACT</span></b></div><br />We’ve already seen that the Bible clearly teaches that Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. As the holiest creature on Earth and the vessel of the Most High, it’s totally incongruous – completely out of keeping with the Ark’s dignity and role – to think that she would have any sexual contact. To prepare the people for God’s coming on Mt. Sinai, Moses said:<br /><br /><b>Exodus 19:14-15</b> - “And Moses came down from the mount to the people, and sanctified them. And when they had washed their garments, he said to them: <b><span style="color: red;">be ready against the third day, and come not near your wives</span></b>.”<br /><br />When David was on the run and needed bread from the priest, we read:<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 21:4</b> - “And the priest answered David, saying: I have no common bread at hand, but only holy bread, <b><span style="color: red;">if the young men be clean, especially from women</span></b>.”<br /><br />The Ark was created for a more sublime and sacred reason, and never would have sexual contact. Oza was struck dead for merely touching the Ark when he shouldn’t have done so (<b>2 Samuel 6:6-8</b>).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">EZECHIEL 44 AND THE PROPHECY ABOUT THE CLOSED GATE IS A PROPHECY</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">OF MARY’S PERPETUAL VIRGINITY</span></b></div><br /><b>Ezechiel 44:2</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And the Lord said to me: </span><b><span style="color: red;">This gate shall be shut, it shall not be opened, and no man shall pass through it: because the Lord the God of Israel hath entered in by it</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and it shall be shut</span>.”<br /><br />Here we see that the Lord shall pass through this gate, and no other man shall pass through it. This is a prophecy about the perpetual virginity of Mary. She is the closed gate, through whom the Lord comes. That’s one reason why Mary has been called “<i>the Gate of Heaven</i>” in traditional Catholic writings.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE PERPETUAL VIRGINITY OF MARY WAS FIRMLY BELIEVED IN THE&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">ANCIENT CHRISTIAN CHURCH</span></b></div><br /><i>Second Council of Constantinople</i>, 553 A.D., Can. 6- “<span style="color: blue;">If anyone says that the holy, glorious, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and ever-virgin</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> is called God-bearer by misuse of language and not truly… let him be anathema</span>.”<br /><br />Some Protestants and most members of the “<i>Orthodox</i>” Church claim to honor the Second Council of Constantinople. It was the fifth ecumenical council. As we see here, it clearly taught Mary’s perpetual virginity.<br /><br />Pope St. Martin I,<i> Lateran Council</i>, 649 A.D., Can. 3 - “<span style="color: blue;">If anyone does not properly and truly confess in accord with the holy Fathers, that the holy Mother of God </span><b><span style="color: red;">and ever Virgin</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and immaculate Mary in the earliest of the ages conceived of the Holy Spirit without seed, namely, God the Word Himself specifically and truly, who was born of God the Father before all ages, and that she incorruptibly bore [</span><i style="color: blue;">Him</i><span style="color: blue;">], </span><b><span style="color: red;">her virginity remaining indestructible even after His birth,</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> let him be condemned.</span>” (<i>Denzinger 256</i>)<br /><br />The ancient Christian Church believed that Mary was perpetually a virgin. In the fourth century, St. Jerome, the father of biblical scholarship and the one who translated the Bible into Latin, defended this truth against <i>Helveticus</i>, a heretic who denied it. As mentioned already, even the first Protestants, including Luther, Calvin and Zwingli, accepted the perpetual virginity of Mary.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLICAL EVIDENCE FOR MARY’S BODILY ASSUMPTION INTO HEAVEN</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">AND HER QUEENSHIP IN HEAVEN</span></b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gDRfnNk20to/UT_TxJc9oRI/AAAAAAAAPUg/0oAXYRoDnv0/s1600/Assumption.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gDRfnNk20to/UT_TxJc9oRI/AAAAAAAAPUg/0oAXYRoDnv0/s320/Assumption.jpg" width="237" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Glorious Assumption in to Heaven</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>The Catholic Church teaches that, after her course of life on Earth, <u><b><span style="color: red;">the Blessed Virgin Mary was assumed body and soul into Heaven</span></b></u>. Her body did not remain in the grave and suffer corruption of the flesh; for this is a punishment for original sin, which she did not have. Since she was free from all original sin and was the privileged Ark, Mary was taken directly to Heaven, body and soul. That’s called the dogma of Mary’s Bodily Assumption.<br /><br />Non-Catholics claim there is no evidence in the Bible for the Assumption of Mary. On the contrary, we find a description of it in Revelation/Apocalypse chapter 12<br /><br />Revelation 12:1 - “<span style="color: blue;">And </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, and the moon under her feet, </span><span style="color: red;"><b>and upon her head a crown of twelve stars</b><b>.</b></span>”<br /><br />The woman in <b>Revelation 12:1</b> signifies a number of things. The fathers of the Church understood it to signify the Mother of Jesus; they also understood it to signify, on a certain level, the Church. There is no doubt that it signifies Mary, for the Son of this woman is the one who rules all nations with an iron rod (<b><i>Rev. 12:5</i></b>). That’s Jesus, of course; and thus the mother must be the Virgin Mary. Therefore, Revelation chapter 12 provides us with a clear picture of Mary assumed into Heaven and placed as Queen of Heaven.<br /><br />The Bible also gives us a glimpse of the Assumption of Mary in <b>Psalm 132:8</b> (<i><b>Psalm 131:8</b> in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible</i>).<br /><br /><b>Psalm 132:8</b> - “<u><b><span style="color: red;">Arise, O Lord, into thy resting place: thou and the ark</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, which thou hast sanctified</span>.”<br /><br />This interesting psalm speaks of the Lord and the Ark arising or being carried to a permanent resting place. This is an image of the Assumption; for Jesus is the Lord and Mary is the new Ark, as we’ve shown. Both of them are taken to Heaven, body and soul. Jesus ascends on His own; Mary is assumed by Jesus.<br /><br />If the Ark of the Old Covenant is spoken of as being carried off to a resting place, how much more the Ark of the new and eternal covenant? We also see that the Ark is spoken of as sanctified.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE ASSUMPTION OF MARY INTO HEAVEN FLOWS LOGICALLY FROM HER&nbsp;</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: blue;">PRESERVATION FROM SIN</span></b></div><br />The bodily Assumption of Mary flows logically from her preservation from all original and actual sin. The corruption of the flesh in the grave is a consequence of original sin (<b><i>Genesis 3:19</i></b>). Most Protestants would agree on this point. As the Ark of the New Covenant, Mary did not have original sin. As a result, she was free from its consequences. It follows from this that God did not let her body see corruption.<br /><br /><b>Psalm 15:10</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; </span><b><span style="color: red;">nor wilt thou give thy holy one to see corruption</span></b>.”<br /><br />This psalm, which speaks of God not allowing His holy one to see corruption, is quoted in the New Testament in Acts chapter 2. It refers to Jesus.<br /><br /><b>Acts 2:31</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Foreseeing this, he spoke of </span><b><span style="color: red;">the resurrection</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of Christ. </span><b><span style="color: red;">For neither was he left in hell, neither did his flesh see corruption</span></b>.”<br /><br />Likewise, because Mary was created free from all sin, she did not suffer any corruption of the flesh in the grave and was assumed body and soul into Heaven.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE ARK WAS MADE OF INCORRUPTIBLE WOOD</span></b></div><br />The Ark of the Old Covenant was made of <i>setim </i>(<i>or shittim</i>) wood, an incorruptible acacia.<br /><br /><b>Exodus 25:10</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Frame an ark of setim wood…</span>”<br /><br /><i>Setim </i>wood is so extremely durable that the Septuagint, the Greek version of the Old Testament, actually translates this word as "<i><b><span style="color: red;">incorruptible</span></b></i>" or <b><span style="color: red;">"<i>nondecaying</i>" wood</span></b>. If the Ark of the Old Covenant was incorruptible, how much more must the Ark of the New Covenant be incorruptible. God specifically prescribed incorruptible wood for the construction of the Ark because it served as a prefigurement of the incorruptible body and soul of the new Ark, the Blessed Virgin.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY’S BODILY ASSUMPTION DOES NOT CONTRADICT BIBLICAL REALITIES</span></b></div><br />Some people consider it fanciful that Mary could have been miraculously assumed into Heaven, body and soul. However, the Bible tells us that Elijah was miraculously carried away to Heaven (<b><i>2 Kings 2:1,11</i></b>). We also read that Enoch was miraculously carried away to walk with God (<b><i>Heb. 11:5; Gen. 5:24</i></b>). It’s also clearly taught in the Bible – and is an article of the ancient Christian faith – that all men, whether good or evil, shall be miraculously reunited with their bodies at the final judgment, for the resurrection of the just and the reprobate (<b><i>1 Cor. 15</i></b>). Thus, it’s not in any way contrary to biblical realities – but rather corresponds precisely to them – to believe that Mary was assumed into Heaven because she was God’s perfect Ark and without sin.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE INDICATES THAT MARY IS THE “QUEEN MOTHER” IN THE&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">KINGDOM OF JESUS</span></b></div><br />God established a covenant with David in order to establish a Kingdom. The Davidic Monarchy, the Kingdom of God on Earth, was meant to be a prototype of the spiritual Kingdom of God which Jesus Christ would establish. That’s why Jesus is called the son of David in the Gospels. It’s why Peter himself says in <b>Acts 2:30</b> that Jesus sits upon David’s throne. <b>Luke 1:32</b> says the following of Jesus:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1ALPYfLSS8/UT_WBUt1gVI/AAAAAAAAPUo/jFZsy5kKiYA/s1600/Queen+of+Heaven+and+Earth.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-D1ALPYfLSS8/UT_WBUt1gVI/AAAAAAAAPUo/jFZsy5kKiYA/s320/Queen+of+Heaven+and+Earth.jpg" width="234" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>“<span style="color: blue;">He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the most High;</span><b style="color: red;"> and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of David his father…</b>”<br /><br />In the Hebrew monarchy, <b><span style="color: red;">the most powerful, honored and important woman in the Kingdom was the mother of the King. She was known as “<i>the Queen Mother.</i>”</span></b> In Hebrew, she was called “<i>the Gebirah</i>.” The <i>Gebirah</i>, the Queen Mother of the Kingdom, possessed a unique power of influence with the King. Her influence, power and prestige surpassed that of the King’s wife. We clearly see the unique influence and power of the “<i>Queen Mother</i>” in <b>1 Kings 1 and 2</b> (<b>3 Kings 1 and 2</b> in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible).<br /><br />King Solomon’s mother was Bathsheba. Bathsheba’s power and influence as Queen Mother was so great that Adonias (<i>or Adonijah</i>) said this to her:<br /><br /><b>1 Kings 2:17</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And he (<i>Adonias</i>) said:</span><b><span style="color: red;"> <u>I pray thee speak to king Solomon (for he cannot deny thee any thing)</u> </span></b><span style="color: blue;">to give me Abisag the Sunamitess to wife</span>.”<br /><br />Adonias understood the position and the power of the Queen Mother. However, the request that Adonias made was unreasonable. Adonias wanted to marry Abisag, who was King David’s last wife. By taking her to wife, Adonias could have made a claim on Solomon’s throne. This is why the King could not have granted his request.<br /><br />Even though Adonias’ request was unreasonable and would never have been granted by the King, this shows us that it was recognized that the Queen Mother had a unique and profound power of influence with the King. This influence was so great that Adonias said: “<i>he cannot deny thee anything</i>.”<br /><br />The next few verses shed even more light on this truth. In <b>1 Kings 2:19</b>, we read that Bathsheba (<i>the Queen Mother</i>) went in to speak to King Solomon to ask of him the favor. When she entered, <b><span style="color: red;">the King bowed himself to her and caused a throne to be set up for her next to him</span></b>.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE BIBLE SHOWS US THAT THE QUEEN MOTHER HAD A THRONE AND&nbsp;</span></b><b><span style="color: blue;">UNIQUE HONOR</span></b></div><br /><b>1 Kings 2:19-20</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Then Bethsabee came to king Solomon, to speak to him for Adonias: </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">and the king arose to meet her, and bowed to her, and sat down upon his throne: and a throne was set for the king's mother, and she sat on his right hand</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">. And she said to him: I desire one small petition of thee, do not put me to confusion. And the king said to her: </span><b><span style="color: red;">My mother, ask: for I must not turn away thy face</span></b>.”<br /><br />As we can see, the Bible teaches that the Queen Mother is honored on a throne with the King. She is not equal to the King, of course; but she is honored along with him as the Queen of the Kingdom. Here we see a perfect description of the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary and of her influence with the King. She is the Queen Mother in the Kingdom of Jesus. Mary is infinitely inferior to her Divine Son. However, she is the perfect Ark, the Queen of Heaven and Earth.<br /><br />This is why Mary has such a power in Heaven under her Divine Son – a power and influence that is greater than what the Queen Mother of the Old Testament had over the King. It’s why it’s so effective to ask favors of her, so that she can ask them of Jesus. She is placed, in the Kingdom of Jesus, beside Him as the Queen of Heaven and Earth.<br /><br />In Psalm 45 (<i>Psalm 44 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible</i>), we also see a reference to God’s throne and the Queen with Him:<br /><br /><b>Psalms 45:6, 9</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: A sceptre of equity is the sceptre of thy kingdom… </span><b><span style="color: red;">The queen stood on thy right hand, in gilded clothing…</span></b>”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">ARE THE HAIL MARY AND THE ROSARY VAIN REPETITIONS CONDEMNED BY JESUS?</span></b></div><br />Some non-Catholics claim that Catholic prayers such as the Hail Mary and the Rosary fall under the denunciation of Jesus.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0478LKFoWwQ/UT_YCBCn7TI/AAAAAAAAPU0/B3U8dzka5Gg/s1600/Queen+of+the+Rosary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0478LKFoWwQ/UT_YCBCn7TI/AAAAAAAAPU0/B3U8dzka5Gg/s320/Queen+of+the+Rosary.jpg" width="138" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Queen of the Rosary</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Matthew 6:7-8</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">But when ye pray, </span><b><span style="color: red;">use not vain repetitions</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, as the heathen do: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking. Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him</span>.”<br /><br />Like the other objections we’ve covered, this objection is also disproven by a deeper consideration of the Bible. Probably the best example to refute the Protestant objection on this point is <b>Revelation (<i>Apocalypse</i>) 4:8</b>.<br /><br /><b>Revelation 4:8 </b>- “<span style="color: blue;">And the four living creatures had each of them six wings; and round about and within they are full of eyes. </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>And they rested not day and night, saying: Holy, holy, holy</u>, Lord God Almighty</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, who was, and who is, and who is to come</span>.”<br /><br />The angels in Heaven say over and over again, day and night, “<i>Holy, holy, holy</i>.” So much for the idea that all prayers which contain repetitions are “<i>pagan</i>.” The assertion couldn’t be more wrong.<br /><br />In <b>Matthew 6:7</b>, Jesus is not condemning prayers which contain words that are repeated; nor is He condemning multiple repetitions of the same prayer <i>(e.g., saying the Our Father or the Hail Mary five times in a row</i>). No, He is denouncing the practices of the pagans. The pagans thought that they could please their false gods by their eloquence and elaborate speeches. They thought that they had to say precisely the correct things and words and names on certain days, lest their false “<i>gods</i>” would not hear them or remember their needs. Jesus is denouncing their paganism. He is teaching that the true God knows all things.<br /><br />There are other points which obliterate the Protestant objection on this matter. In <b>Psalm 136</b> (<i>Psalm 135 in the Douay-Rheims Catholic Bible</i>), we are given a prayer of praise and thanksgiving which repeats the same phrase – “<i><b><span style="color: red;">for his mercy endures forever</span></b></i>” – a grand total of 26 times in a row!<br /><br /><b>Psalms 136:1-26</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good: </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">for his mercy endureth for ever</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;">. O give thanks unto the God of gods: </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">for his mercy endureth for ever…</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;"> To him who alone doeth great wonders: </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">for his mercy endureth for ever…</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;"> [</span><i style="color: blue;">etc</i><span style="color: blue;">.]</span>”<br /><br />Jesus repeats the same prayer three times in a row, when praying to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane. That can be read in <b>Matthew 26:39</b>, <b>Matthew 26:42</b>, and <b>Matthew 26:44</b>. In <b>Matthew 20:29-33</b>, Jesus responds to the repeated prayer of the blind men to have mercy on them.<br /><br />As we can see, the Bible contains many examples where prayers to the true God are repeated. They do not constitute “<i>vain repetitions</i>” of pagans. In fact, the Catholic Church’s prayers to Mary in the Hail Mary and the Rosary are predicted by Mary herself in<b> Luke 1</b>:<br /><br />The Hail Mary prayer: “<span style="color: blue;">Hail Mary, full of grace; the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Amen</span>.”<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:46-48</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Mary said: </span><b><span style="color: red;">My soul doth magnify the Lord</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour. Because he hath regarded the humility of his handmaid; </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">for behold from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed</span></b></u>.”<br /><br />Obviously only the Catholic Church fulfills this prophecy, which is about all generations of the true Church.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY’S UNIQUE AND IMMACULATE HEART RECEIVES UNIQUE ATTENTION IN SCRIPTURE</span></b></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_rSumvgpHA/UT_ZxGxbh-I/AAAAAAAAPVA/khiEc1hHl-o/s1600/Immaculate+Heart+of+Mary.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T_rSumvgpHA/UT_ZxGxbh-I/AAAAAAAAPVA/khiEc1hHl-o/s320/Immaculate+Heart+of+Mary.jpg" width="249" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Immaculate Heart of Mary</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table>The Catholic Church honors and spreads devotion to the immaculate heart of Mary. She had the most pure heart of any human being that ever lived. Just like the Ark of the Old Covenant, the devotion to Mary’s immaculate heart is powerful with God. Some non-Catholics condemn this devotion as unbiblical. On the contrary, only the heart of Mary is specifically mentioned in the New Testament. The heart of no other good or holy person receives the kind of attention that is given to Mary’s heart in the Gospel. Her heart was unique among human beings because it was never defiled by sin.<br /><br /><b>Luke 2:18-19</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her hear</b><b>t</b></span>.”<br /><br /><b>Luke 2:51</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: </span><b><span style="color: red;">but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.</span>”<br /><br />Mary’s unique soul also receives a special mention in Scripture.<br /><br /><b>Luke 2:35</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">(</span><i><span style="color: blue;">Yea, </span><b><span style="color: red;">a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also</span></b></i><span style="color: blue;">,) that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed</span>.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">MARY IS THE MOTHER OF GOD</span></b></div><br />It’s surprising that so many non-Catholics have trouble with the title “<i>Mary, mother of God</i>.” They admit that Mary is the mother of Jesus, but argue that she is not to be considered “<i>mother of God</i>.” Protestants who hold that Mary is not the mother of God don’t seem to realize that it’s not logically consistent to believe that Jesus is God, but to deny that Mary is the mother of God. Such a position actually denies the divinity of Jesus Christ, who is <b><i><span style="color: red;">one divine person</span></i></b> with <b><i><span style="color: red;">two natures</span></i></b>.<br /><br /><b>Fact</b>: <b><span style="color: red;">Jesus Christ is God</span></b>. The Bible teaches it in many places (<b>John 1:1</b>; <b>John 20:28</b>; <b>John 8:58</b>; <b>Isaias 9:6</b>; etc.)<br /><br /><b>Fact</b>: <b><span style="color: red;">Mary is the mother of Jesus</span></b>. The Bible teaches it in many places (<b>Luke 1:31</b>; <b>Mt. 1:25</b>; etc.)<br /><br /><b><u><span style="color: red;">Undeniable conclusion</span></u></b>: Mary is the mother of God.<br /><b><br /></b><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a-k8cKfVJOc/UT_dUjTLpaI/AAAAAAAAPVI/OeHpN2LtNAM/s1600/Mother+of+God.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a-k8cKfVJOc/UT_dUjTLpaI/AAAAAAAAPVI/OeHpN2LtNAM/s320/Mother+of+God.jpg" width="313" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Blessed Mother Mary</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><b>Luke 1:31-32</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And, behold, thou [</span><i style="color: blue;">Mary</i><span style="color: blue;">] shalt conceive in thy womb, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and bring forth a son</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called </span><b><span style="color: red;">the Son of the Highest</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David.</span>”<br /><br /><b>Isaias 7:14</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, </span><b><span style="color: red;">a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name <i>Immanuel </i>[<i>God with us</i>]</span></b>.”<br /><br />The Bible indicates that Mary is the mother of <i>Immanuel </i>(<i>which means “God with us”</i>).<br /><br /><b>Luke 1:43</b> - "<span style="color: blue;">[Elizabeth said]: And how does this happen to me, </span><b><span style="color: red;">that the <u>mother of my Lord</u> should come to me?</span></b>"<br /><br />Elizabeth also explicitly says that Mary is the mother of the Lord. That is the one Lord Jesus Christ, who is God.<br /><br /><b>Ephesians 4:5</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">One </span><b><span style="color: red;">Lord</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, one faith, one baptism…</span>”<br /><br /><b>John 20:28</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And Thomas answered and said unto him, </span><b><span style="color: red;">My Lord and my God</span></b>.”<br /><br />That should be simple enough. Unfortunately, it isn’t sufficient for some people. The Protestant error on this point needs to be more completely addressed and refuted.<br /><br />Protestants point out that the divine nature of God is eternal and without beginning. That’s certainly true. <u><span style="color: red;"><b>Since the nature of God is eternal and it certainly did not come from Mary, they argue, Mary cannot be said to be “<i>mother</i>” of God</b></span></u>. This is the main argument that Protestants make on this point. It is a very flawed argument.<br /><br />The Protestant error on this point stems from attributing to the person of the Son of God <i><b><span style="color: red;">only that which belongs to His divine nature</span></b></i>. It is to fail to attribute to the person of the Son of God also that which belongs or pertains to <i><b><span style="color: red;">His human nature</span></b></i>.<br /><br />Since the Son of God has truly become man, by failing to attribute to Him also that which belongs to His human nature, they actually deny that Jesus Christ is at the same time true God and true man.<br /><br />The Son of God, Jesus Christ, is one divine person (<i>the second person of the Holy Trinity</i>) with two natures. He is both true God and true man. Jesus Christ is not a man who was united with or inspired by God. No, He is true God who truly <b><i><span style="color: red;">became man</span></i></b>.<br /><br /><b>John 1:14</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">the Word was made fles</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">h, and dwelt among us…</span>”<br /><br />Jesus was not just a special human who had a unique inspiration and connection to the Word of God (<i>the Son of God</i>). No, He is <b><span style="color: red;">the Word of God made flesh</span></b>. Therefore, to attribute to the Son of God only that which specifically belongs to His divine nature, and not also that which applies to His assumed human nature – as the Protestants do when they deny that Mary is the mother of God – is to <b><u><span style="color: red;">divide Jesus into two</span></u></b> different people.<br /><br />In the 5th century there was a certain heretic named Nestorius. He argued like Protestants of our day on this matter. He held that Mary was not to be called <i>Theotokos </i>(<i>mother/bearer of God</i>), but only <i>Christotokos </i>(<i>bearer of Christ</i>). The Church immediately recognized the heresy of Nestorius and condemned it in 431 at the Council of Ephesus. Nestorius’ false view was recognized by the Church to be the heresy which the Bible condemned as the “<i>dissolving</i>” of Jesus and “<i>antichrist</i>.” This false idea “<i>dissolves</i>” Christ by separating from His one person that which pertains to His human nature. <b><span style="color: red;">It results in the division of Jesus into two people, and the position that Jesus was just a man who carried (<i>or was inspired by</i>) the person of God, rather than a divine person who truly became man</span></b>. This heresy results in the worship of a man and the worship of two sons. The Church clearly saw this for what it was and condemned it.<br /><br /><i>Second Council of Constantinople</i>, 553- “<b><span style="color: red;">The holy synod of Ephesus… has pronounced sentence against the heresy of Nestorius…</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and all those who might later… adopt the same opinions as he held… They express these falsehoods against the true dogmas of the Church, </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">OFFERING WORSHIP TO TWO SONS</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">, trying to divide that which cannot be divided, </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">AND INTRODUCING TO BOTH HEAVEN AND EARTH THE OFFENCE OF THE WORSHIP OF MAN</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">. But the sacred band of heavenly spirits worship along with us only </span><u><b><span style="color: red;">one</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;"> Lord Jesus Christ</span>.”<br /><br /><i>Council of Ephesu</i>s, 431, Can. 5: “<b><span style="color: red;">If anyone dares to say that Christ was a Godbearing man and not rather God in truth</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, being by nature one Son, even as "<i>the Word became flesh</i>", and is made partaker of blood and flesh precisely like us, let him be anathema</span>.”<br /><br />Jesus is not two different people. He is ONE DIVINE PERSON with two natures. <b><span style="color: red;">Therefore, that which happens to His human nature truly happens to His one person</span></b>. His person was conceived and born in His humanity from Mary. She is therefore truly His mother, and the mother of God.<br /><br />The meaning entailed in this truth is staggering. As the Church has always taught, the Son of God, eternal and equal to the Father, had two births. He was born before time, and from all eternity, from God the Father (<b>John 16:28</b>; <b>John 8:42</b>). He was born in time, as man, from Mary, His mother. Only Mary possesses this inscrutable connection to God, to a person of the Trinity. It is from this truth, that she is truly Mother of God, that all of her other unique prerogatives and privileges come.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">CONCLUSION ABOUT BIBLICAL TEACHING ON MARY</span></b></div><br />These are the biblical reasons why the Catholic Church has always recognized the importance and the necessity of devotion to the Blessed Virgin Mary. She is the new Eve, the new Ark, the pure vessel, the sealed gate, and the Mother of God. To fail to have devotion to her is equivalent to a man in the Old Testament who would refuse to venerate the Ark of the Covenant or would refuse to march behind it to a battle. Such a man would fall prey to the enemies of God and would be separated from the camp of God’s people.<br /><br /><b>1 Samuel 4:22&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: blue;">... The glory is departed from Israel, because the ark of God was taken</span>.”<br />____________________<br /><br /><b><span style="color: red;">1&nbsp;</span></b>Protestant translations of the passage are slightly different: “<i>And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel</i>” (<i>1611 King James Version</i>). The Protestant Bibles render the final part of the passage as the seed of the woman will crush the head of the serpent, whereas the traditional Catholic versions have it as “she” (the woman) will crush the serpent’s head. An ambiguity in the Hebrew texts makes this issue a matter of scholarly debate. Many of the ancient fathers, however, agree with the traditional Catholic rendering of “<i>she</i>.” Regardless, even if one were to grant, for the sake of argument, the translation which is preferred by Protestants, the point about Mary being the definitive “<i>woman</i>” in opposition to the serpent remains perfectly intact; for Protestants translate the first part just as Catholics do.<br /><br />(Note: The images were all sourced from the Internet by the Author of Infallible Catholic.)</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-82254128813294394472013-03-10T13:58:00.001+08:002013-03-10T13:58:28.344+08:00Fatima Miracle in Hiroshima, Japan<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2e8N4A6WS84/UTLL8KUnLhI/AAAAAAAAPSk/uRBRcrhz16Q/s1600/Fatima+Miracle+at+Hiroshima,+Japan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2e8N4A6WS84/UTLL8KUnLhI/AAAAAAAAPSk/uRBRcrhz16Q/s640/Fatima+Miracle+at+Hiroshima,+Japan.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">In the foreground is a photo of the Church of Our Lady's Assumption and up the road the presbytery where the eight German Jesuit priests survived and lived to tell the miracle.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In the final stages of World War II, at about 8:15 AM of August 6, 1945, an American&nbsp;Boeing B-29 Superfortress bomber christened <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enola_Gay" target="_blank">Enola Gay</a></i>, dropped the first <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Boy" target="_blank">atomic bomb</a> in history over Hiroshima in Japan. The atomic blast generated an&nbsp;unimaginable&nbsp;ground heat of 6,000° C (<i>10,832° F</i>) and a tremendous wind at the sonic speed of 4.4 kilometers (<i>2.7 miles</i>) per second. Everything within&nbsp;a two-kilometer (<i>1.2-mile</i>) radius of&nbsp;the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocenter" target="_blank">hypocenter</a> was annihilated, instantly killing 140,000 people. Concrete buildings collapsed to pieces and broken glass flew as far as 16 kilometers (9.94 miles) away. The atomic radiation generated by the bomb was so unbelievably strong that many of those outside of the range who were exposed to it lost all bodily functions, their cells underwent&nbsp;<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis" target="_blank">apoptosis</a>&nbsp;- a kind of cellular suicide, and died within days. Between the blast itself, the resulting fires throughout the city and the radiation burns, some estimate that 200,000 citizens of Hiroshima lost their lives.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWYOMikhZOI/UTwTK06bP3I/AAAAAAAAPS0/Il6RDuGHGU4/s1600/Hiroshima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RWYOMikhZOI/UTwTK06bP3I/AAAAAAAAPS0/Il6RDuGHGU4/s400/Hiroshima.jpg" width="322" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Atomic bomb mushroom clouds over Hiroshima</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br />Yet, in the midst of burned bodies, charred skeletons, and structural damage, just eight blocks from ground zero (<i>exactly 1 kilometer or 6/10 of a mile</i>), a two story Catholic presbytery miraculously remained intact with no apparent damage to it whatsoever, not even the windows were broken. When an investigation was made, it was discovered that there survived a community of eight German Jesuit priests who were all found unscathed, with only a few minor injuries.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eaVjmg44m1A/UTwWmHspdEI/AAAAAAAAPTM/XSkaNEWI1CQ/s1600/Lewis-Schiffer-1957.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eaVjmg44m1A/UTwWmHspdEI/AAAAAAAAPTM/XSkaNEWI1CQ/s640/Lewis-Schiffer-1957.jpg" width="402" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Father Hubert Shiffer&nbsp;who headed the community&nbsp;was one of those Jesuit&nbsp;priests. He was 30 years old when the atomic bomb exploded at Hiroshima and lived another 33 years in good health to tell the miracle. The same is said of the other seven priests of the community. Aside from some slight surface abrasions or scratches, they all lived out their days in full health with no radiation sickness, no loss of hearing, or any other visible long term defects or cancer from radiation.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Father Shiffer was thoroughly examined and questioned by more than 200 scientists who were unable to explain how he and his companions had survived the atomic blast. He attributed the miracle to the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He declared: "I was in the middle of the atomic explosion and I am still here alive and well. I was not struck down by its destruction." Furthermore, for several years hundreds of experts and investigators continued to study and investigate the scientific reasons as to why the presbytery house was not affected, and when asked, Father Shiffer remarked each time: "<span style="color: red;"><b>We believe that we survived because</b> <b><u>we were living the Message of Fatima</u>. We lived and <u>prayed the Rosary daily</u> in that home</b></span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">IN 1976, at the Eucharistic Congress held in Philadelphia (USA), Father Shiffer publicly testified and recounted his experiences at Hiroshima. At that time, all eight members of the Jesuit community were still alive. In an interview with Fr. Paul Ruge, he describes the horrific nightmare of August 6, 1945:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"Suddenly, a terrific explosion filled the air with one bursting thunder stroke. An invisible force lifted me from the chair, hurled me through the air, shook me, battered me, whirled me 'round and round' like a leaf in a gust of autumn wind."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Ruge relates that the next thing he remembered was that he opened his eyes and found himself laying on the ground. He looked around and there was NOTHING in any direction: the railroad station and buildings in all directions were leveled to the ground. The only physical harm to himself was that he could feel a few pieces of glass in the back of his neck. As far as he could tell, there was nothing else physically wrong with himself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">According to Dr. Stephen Rinehart, a nuclear physicist with the U.S. Department of Defense who had studied this phenomenon intently, they should have been dead in a flash. In his commentary on the Hiroshima blast he states:</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">"Their residence should still have been utterly destroyed (temp; 2000 F and air blast pressures; 100 psi). In contrast, unreinforced masonry or brick walls (representative of commercial construction) are destroyed at 3 psi, which will also cause car damage and burst windows. At 10 psi, a human will experience severe lung and heart damage, burst eardrums and at 20 psi your limbs can be blown off. Your head will be blown off by 40 psi and no residential or unreinforced commercial construction would be left standing. At 80 psi even reinforced concrete is heavily damaged and no human would be alive because your skull would be crushed. All the cotton clothes would be on fire at 350 F (probably at 275 F) and your lungs would be inoperative within a minute breathing air (even for a few seconds) at these temperatures.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"There are no physical laws to explain why the Jesuits were untouched in the Hiroshima air blast. There is no other actual or test data where a structure such as this was not totally destroyed at this standoff distance by an atomic weapon. All who were at this range from the epicenter should have received enough radiation to be dead within at most a matter of minutes if nothing else happened to them. There is no known way to design a uranium-235 atomic bomb, which could leave such a large discrete area intact while destroying everything around it immediately outside the fireball . . .</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"From a scientific viewpoint, what happened to those Jesuits at Hiroshima still defies all human logic from the laws of physics as understood today (or at any time in the future). It must be concluded that some other (external) force was present whose power and/or capability to transform energy and matter as it relates to humans is beyond current comprehension."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Fatima miracle that occurred at Hiroshima is well known and well documented and has been published in various journals since the war, and can be read today on several websites. Yet, to date no one has ever been able to offer any sound scientific explanation for this phenomenon.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-36068493798604329372013-02-27T00:30:00.001+08:002013-02-27T00:30:37.832+08:00The Message of Fatima<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hbr06A1vm30/USzG39ANmOI/AAAAAAAAPQU/147L6-LL7mU/s1600/Seers+of+Fatima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hbr06A1vm30/USzG39ANmOI/AAAAAAAAPQU/147L6-LL7mU/s640/Seers+of+Fatima.jpg" width="628" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Jacinta, Lucia and Francisco of Fatima, Portugal</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the <a href="http://mostholyfamilymonastery.com/">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> which is written by, and is the intellectual product of Bro. Michael Dimond and Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">The Message of Fatima: A heavenly sign marking the beginning of the end times and a prediction of apostasy from the Church</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Mario Luigi Ciappi, papal theologian to Pope Pius XII: “<span style="color: blue;">In the Third Secret [<i>of Fatima</i>] it is foretold, among other things, that </span><span style="color: red;"><b>the great apostasy in the Church will begin <u>at the top</u></b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The message and miracle of Our Lady of Fatima in 1917 is one of the greatest events in the history of the Catholic Church. Since the miracle at Fatima, which occurred on Oct. 13, 1917, was predicted to take place in advance, and was fulfilled in the presence of almost 100,000 people, it’s probably the greatest miracle in Catholic history outside the Resurrection. The Fatima miracle and message also bear tremendous significance for our topic: <i>The Truth about What Really Happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II</i>. Beginning on May 13, 1917, the Mother of God appeared six times to Jacinta (<i>age 7</i>), Francisco (<i>age 9</i>) and Lucia (<i>age 10</i>) in Fatima, Portugal. The Blessed Virgin told the children to pray the Rosary every day; she showed them a vision of Hell; and she made prophecies about World War II and the expansion of Communism (<i>“the errors of Russia”</i>), among other things.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Vision of Hell shown by Our Lady of Fatima to the children:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">As the Lady spoke the last words, she opened Her hands once more, as She had done the two previous months. </span><b><span style="color: red;">The rays [<i>of light</i>] appeared to penetrate the earth, and we saw, as it were, a vast sea of fire. Plunged in this fire, we saw the demons and the souls [<i>of the damned</i>]. The latter were like transparent burning embers, all blackened or burnished bronze, having human forms</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. They were floating about in that conflagration, now raised into the air by the flames which issued from within themselves, together with great clouds of smoke. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>Now they fell back on every side like sparks in huge fires, without weight or equilibrium, amid shrieks and groans of pain and despair, which horrified us and made us tremble with fright (</b><i><b>it must have been this sight which caused me to cry out, as people say they heard me</b></i><b>)</b></span><span style="color: blue;">. The demons were distinguished [</span><i style="color: blue;">from the souls of the damned</i><span style="color: blue;">] by their terrifying and repellent likeness to frightful and unknown animals, black and transparent like burning coals. </span><b><span style="color: red;">That vision only lasted for a moment, thanks to our good Heavenly &nbsp;Mother, Who at the first apparition had promised to take us to Heaven. Without that, I think that we would have died of terror and fear</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<i><b><span style="color: blue;">You see Hell, where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them </span><u><span style="color: red;">God wishes to establish in the world the devotion to my Immaculate Heart</span></u></b></i>,” Our Lady said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Fatima children shortly after the vision of Hell . . . one can see in their terrified countenances the truth of their words: that they would have died of fright at the vision of Hell if they had not been promised Heaven.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">On July 13, 1917, Our Lady also told the children that on Oct. 13, 1917 she would work a miracle that all would have to believe:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“Lucia said, ‘<span style="color: blue;">I wish to ask you to tell us who you are, and to perform a miracle so that everyone will believe that you have appeared to us!</span>’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">‘<span style="color: red;">Continue to come here every month</span>,’ answered the Lady. ‘<span style="color: red;">In October I will tell you who I am and what I wish, and will perform a miracle that everyone will have to believe</span>.’”(<i>Our Lady of Fatima, July 13, 1917</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since the children had announced months in advance of Oct. 13 that the Lady would work a miracle, 70,000 to 100,000 people gathered at Fatima on Oct. 13 to see the miracle that was predicted to take place. There were also many nonbelievers who came to scoff when the predicted miracle didn’t occur. However, as even the secular press confirmed, the Miracle of the Sun – as it’s now known – did occur, just as it was predicted by the children and by Our Lady of Fatima. It stunned the gathered multitude, converted hardened unbelievers, including atheists and Freemasons, and confirmed thousands in the Catholic Faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FsjjgexpMMI/USzM2zAAU_I/AAAAAAAAPRE/DpIeYVVVoIE/s1600/Miracle+at+Fatima.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="452" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FsjjgexpMMI/USzM2zAAU_I/AAAAAAAAPRE/DpIeYVVVoIE/s640/Miracle+at+Fatima.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The stunned crowd at Fatima on October 13, 1917 witnessing the predicted miracle by Our Lady of Fatima.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What was the Miracle of the Sun that so stunned and converted the enraptured audience of 70,000 -plus at Fatima on Oct. 13, 1917? A brief examination of the miracle and its significance will go a long way in revealing: <i>The Truth about What Really Happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II.</i></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">The sun stood forth in the clear zenith like a great silver disk which, though bright as any sun they had ever seen, they could look straight at without blinking, and with a unique and delightful satisfaction. This lasted but a moment. While they gazed, the huge ball began to ‘dance’ – that was the word all the beholders applied to it. Now it was whirling rapidly like a gigantic fire-wheel. &nbsp;After doing this for some time, it stopped. Then it rotated again, with dizzy, sickening speed. Finally there appeared on the rim a border of crimson, which flung across the sky, as from a hellish vortex, blood-red streamers of flame, reflecting to the earth, to the trees and shrubs, to the upturned faces and the clothes all sorts of brilliant colors in succession: green, red, orange, blue, violet, the whole spectrum in fact. Madly gyrating in this manner three times, </span><b><span style="color: red;">the fiery orb seemed to tremble, to shudder, and then to plunge precipitately, in a mighty zigzag, toward the crowd</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">“</span><span style="color: red;"><u><b>A fearful cry broke from the lips of thousands of terrified persons as they fell upon their knees, thinking the end of the world had come</b></u></span><span style="color: blue;">. Some said that the air became warmer at that instant; they would not have been surprised if everything about them had burst into flames, enveloping and consuming them.”&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">“All over Portugal, in fact, the anti-clerical press was compelled to bear witness of the same sort. &nbsp;There was general agreement on the essentials. As Dr. Domingos Pinto Coelho wrote in O Ordem, ‘The sun, sometimes surrounded with crimson flames, at other times aureoled with yellow and red, at still other times seemed to revolve with a very rapid movement of rotation, </span><b><span style="color: red;">still again seeming to detach itself from the sky, to approach the earth</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> . . .</span>’”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">During the miracle the sun was seen to be speeding toward the earth <span style="color: red;"><u><b>and the people thought the end of the world had come</b></u></span>. The significance should be obvious: <b><span style="color: red;">Fatima was an apocalyptic sign; it was a sign that the end was near, that the events which would precede the culmination of the world and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ were to begin</span></b>. Men must amend their lives before the end of the world really came.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Based on some of these considerations, many have concluded that Our Lady of Fatima is the woman clothed with the sun described in chapter 12:1 of the Apocalypse:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">And </span><span style="color: red;"><b><u>a great sign appeared in heaven</u></b></span><span style="color: blue;">: </span><span style="color: red;"><u><b>A woman clothed with the sun</b></u></span><span style="color: blue;">, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars</span>.” (<i>Apocalypse 12:1</i>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Fatima seers also reported that Our Lady was made all of light – she was more brilliant than the sun. The evidence is very strong that Our Lady of Fatima was the woman clothed with the sun prophesied in the Apocalypse, chapter 12. In fact, there is a stunning confirmation that Our Lady’s appearance at Fatima was the fulfillment of the prophecy in the Apocalypse about the woman clothed with the sun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pkMHa6x1cO4/USzTmAd1qOI/AAAAAAAAPR0/BQEuEWuEfL4/s1600/O+seculo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="604" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pkMHa6x1cO4/USzTmAd1qOI/AAAAAAAAPR0/BQEuEWuEfL4/s640/O+seculo.png" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Masonic Daily Paper, O Seculo stunningly confirms without even knowing it that Our Lady was the woman clothed with the sun of the Apocalypse 12:1</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Miracle of the Sun worked by Our Lady of Fatima was reported by anti-Catholic papers throughout Portugal. The liberal, Masonic and anti-clerical daily of Lisbon, <i>O Seculo</i>, had its Editor in Chief, Avelino de Almeida, on hand to report on the event. &nbsp;To his credit, he honestly reported on the solar prodigy. What we want to draw to your attention is the title of his article which was published in <i>O Seculo</i> on Oct. 15, 1917. Giving an account of the extraordinary event at Fatima on Oct. 13, his article in <i>O Seculo</i> of October 15 was entitled:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;"><b>How the sun danced in broad daylight at Fatima. The apparitions of the Virgin. – <u>The sign of Heaven</u>. – Thousands declare it a miracle. – War and peace</b></span>.’’</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Please notice that the Masonic, anti-clerical daily of Lisbon described the event of Fatima and the Miracle of the Sun as “<b><span style="color: red;">The sign of Heaven</span></b>.” &nbsp;Does that sound familiar?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 12:1&nbsp;</b>- “<span style="color: red;">And <u><b>a great sign appeared in Heaven</b></u>: A woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Are we to believe that the Masonic newspaper of Lisbon had Apocalypse 12:1 in mind when publishing this article shortly after the solar prodigy in 1917? Were the anti-clericals considering the possibility that Our Lady’s appearance constituted the woman clothed with the sun and the “<i>sign of Heaven</i>” described in the Bible? Of course not; not even Catholics at that time had connected Fatima with the woman clothed with the sun, let alone the anti-clericals who didn’t even believe in Sacred Scripture or probably didn’t even know about the prophecy in Apoc. 12:1! This headline, therefore, <b><span style="color: red;">is an unknowing confirmation, <i>by a public and anti-Catholic source</i>, that Our Lady of Fatima and her miracle on Oct. 13 were indeed the sign prophesied in Apocalypse 12:1!&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s almost as if one were to ask God the question: Lord, how will we know when the great “<i>sign of heaven</i>,” which you predicted in Apocalypse 12:1, will occur? And the Lord responded: just read the headline in the Masonic newspaper, for when this sign will occur it will be reported even in it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This stunning fact not only serves to confirm that <i>Our Lady of Fatima</i> is the woman clothed with the sun of Apoc. 12:1, but also further confirms the authenticity of the Catholic Faith and Sacred Scripture.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Therefore, to finally round out our point about Fatima and its relevance to what has happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II, we can say: since Fatima was the sign prophesied in Apoc. 12:1, this means that we are in the Apocalyptic era, the last days of the world.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Fatima, the sign of Apoc. 12:1, and the great red dragon (<i>Communism</i>), the sign of Apoc. 12:3, both come on the scene in 1917.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Lending further support to the idea that Fatima was the “<i>sign</i>” of Apocalypse 12:1 is the fact that the Apocalypse speaks of the “<i>great red dragon</i>” just two verses later. Scripture seems to indicate that the two will come on the scene at the same time.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 12:3</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">And there was seen another sign in Heaven: </span><u><span style="color: red;"><b>and behold a great red dragon</b></span></u><span style="color: blue;">, having seven heads and ten horns: and on his heads seven diadems: </span><b><span style="color: red;">And his tail drew the third part of the stars of Heaven</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and cast them to the Earth . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many commentators consider the “<i>great red dragon</i>” to be Communism, since Communism is undeniably associated with red, and was responsible for <span style="color: red;"><u>the murder of over 20 million people</u></span> in Russia alone. Under Vladimir Lenin, <span style="color: red;"><b>the Bolsheviks took over Russia for Communism – gaining the significant victory which would make Communism a world power – on Nov. 7, <u>1917</u>, immediately after the appearances of Our Lady in Fatima</b></span>, which had warned of the spread of “<i>the errors of Russia</i>.” Even today we speak of Communist China as “<i>Red China</i>.” The Communist revolution in China was launched in celebratory fashion by men with “<i>Enormous red banners, tens of thousands of red flags, and masses of red balloons flew over them</i>.” The evidence that the “<i>great red dragon</i>” describes the Communist Empire is quite strong.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s also very interesting that the great red dragon drew the third part of the stars of Heaven:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 12:3</b> - “And there was seen another sign in Heaven: <b><span style="color: red;">and behold a great red dragon . . . And <u>his tail drew the third part of the stars of Heaven</u>, and cast them to the Earth . . .</span></b>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is it just a coincidence that Communism, at its height,<b><span style="color: red;"> held a third of the world in its grasp</span></b>?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Warren H. Carroll, <i>The Rise and Fall of the Communist Revolution</i>, p. 418: “As Joseph Stalin walked into the Valley of the Shadow of Death, <b><span style="color: red;">the international communist movement which he led held <u>a third of the world in its grasp</u>.</span></b>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Sister Lucia of Fatima told Fr. Fuentes in 1957 that we are in the last times</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One of the three visionaries of Fatima, Sr. Lucia, told Fr. Fuentes in 1957:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<b><span style="color: red;">Father, <u>the Most Holy Virgin did not tell me that we are in the last times of the world but she made me understand this for three reasons</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. The first reason is because she told me that the Devil is in the mood for engaging in a decisive battle against the Virgin. And a decisive battle is the final battle where one side will be victorious and the other side will suffer defeat. Hence from now on we must choose sides. Either we are for God or we are for the Devil. There is no other possibility.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">“The second reason is because she said to my cousins as well as to myself that God is giving two last remedies to the world. These are the Holy Rosary and Devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. </span><b><span style="color: red;">These are the last two remedies which signify that there will be no others</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">“The third reason is because in the plans of Divine Providence, God always, before He is about to chastise the world, exhausts all other remedies. Now, when He sees that the world pays no attention whatsoever then, as we say in our imperfect manner of speaking, He offers us with a certain trepidation the last means of salvation, His Most Holy Mother. It is with a certain trepidation because if you despise and repulse this ultimate means we will not have any more forgiveness from Heaven because we will have committed a sin which the Gospel calls the sin against the Holy Spirit. &nbsp;This sin consists of openly rejecting with full knowledge and consent, the salvation which He offers. &nbsp;Let us remember that Jesus Christ is a very good Son and that He does not permit that we offend and despise His Most Holy Mother. We have recorded through many centuries of Church history the obvious testimony which demonstrates, by the terrible chastisements which have befallen those who have attacked the honor of His Most Holy Mother, how Our Lord Jesus Christ has always defended the honor of His Mother</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As discussed already, the main feature of the end times is an apostasy from the Catholic Faith. In “<i>the holy place” </i>itself (<i>Rome</i>) there will be “<i>the abomination of desolation</i>” (<b>Mt. 24:15</b>), and a deception so profound that, if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived (<b>Mt. 24:24</b>). The <span style="color: red;"><b>New Testament tells us that this deception will happen in the very heart of the Church’s physical structures, in “<i>the Temple of God</i>”</b></span> <span style="color: red;">(<b>2 Thess. 2:4</b>)</span>. It will arise because people receive not the love of the truth (<b>2 Thessalonians 2:10</b>). That is precisely why the very last words that <i>Our Lady of Fatim</i>a gives us in the great secret of July 13, 1917 are:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;">In Portugal the dogma of Faith will always be preserved, etc</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These are the last words given <u><span style="color: red;"><b>before the undisclosed third secret of Fatima</b></span></u>. From this scholars of Fatima have concluded that the third secret undoubtedly deals with a massive spiritual crisis and apostasy from the Catholic Faith among those who purport to hold positions of authority in the Church.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since we don’t have the complete sentence of Our Lady’s last words of the July message, we cannot say for sure what they mean; but the sentence could be: “In Portugal the dogma of Faith will always be preserved <i><span style="color: red;"><b>in a faithful remnant . . .</b></span></i>” Or: “In Portugal the dogma of Faith will always be preserved <b><span style="color: red;"><i>until the Great Apostasy . . .</i></span></b>” Or: “In Portugal the dogma of Faith will always be preserved <b><i><span style="color: red;">among those who heed my warnings . . .</span></i></b>” The third secret undoubtedly deals with the present apostasy of the Vatican II sect. We will document this apostasy in great detail in this book.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As cited at the beginning of this section,“<i>Fr</i>.” Mario Luigi Ciappi, the papal theologian to Pope Pius XII, stated:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“In the Third Secret it is foretold, among other things, that the great apostasy in the Church will begin <i>at the top</i>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another “<i>cardinal</i>” of the Vatican II Church incredibly admitted that the <i>Third Secret</i> deals with the post-Vatican II apostasy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<i>Cardinal</i>” Silvio Oddi:“. . . the Third Secret [<i>of Fatima</i>] . . . is not about a supposed conversion of Russia . . . but regards the ‘<i>revolution</i>’ in the Catholic Church.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Testimonies that Heaven asked that the third secret of Fatima be revealed by 1960 at the latest</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Canon Galamba</b>: “<i>When the bishop refused to open the letter, Lucy made him promise that it would definitely be opened and read to the world <b><span style="color: red;">either at her death or in 1960</span></b>, whichever would come first.</i>” (<i>La Verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatima</i>, Fr. Joaquin Alonso, Spanish Edition, pp. 46-47)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>John Haffert</b>: &nbsp;“<i>At the bishop’s house (in Leiria), I sat at the table on his right, with the four Canons. &nbsp;During that first dinner, Canon Jose Galamba de Oliveira turned to me when the bishop had left the room momentarily and asked: “Why don’t you ask the bishop to open the Secret?” Endeavoring not to show my ignorance concerning Fatima - which at that time was almost complete - I simply looked at him without expression. He continued: "The bishop can open the Secret. He doesn’t have to wait <b><span style="color: red;">until 1960</span></b></i>.” (<i>Dear Bishop!</i> John Haffert, AMI 1981, pp. 3-4)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Cardinal Cerejeira</b>: In February 1960 the Patriarch of Lisbon reported the directions which the Bishop of Leiria “<i>has passed on to him</i>” on the subject of the Third Secret: “<i>Bishop da Silva enclosed (the envelope sealed by Lucy) in another envelope on which he indicated that <b><span style="color: red;">the letter had to be opened in 1960</span></b> by himself, Bishop Jose Correia da Silva, if he was still alive, or if not, by the Cardinal Patriarch of Lisbon</i>.” (<i>Novidades</i>, February 24, 1960, quoted by <i>La Documentation catholique</i>, June 19, 1960, col. 751)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Canon Barthas</b>: During his conversations with Sister Lucy on October 17-18, 1946, he had the opportunity to question her on the Third Secret. He writes: “<i>When will the third element of the Secret be revealed to us</i>?” Already in 1946, to this question Lucy and the Bishop of Leiria answered me uniformly, without hesitation and without comment: “<i><b><span style="color: red;">In 1960</span></b></i>.” And when I pushed my audacity so far as to ask why it was necessary to wait until then, the only response I received from either one was: “<i><span style="color: red;"><b>Because the Blessed Virgin wishes it so</b></span></i>.” (<i>Barthas</i>, Fatima, <i>merveille du XXe siecle</i>, p. 83. Fatima-editions, 1952)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>The Armstrongs</b>: On May 14, 1953, Lucy received a visit from the Armstrongs, who were able to question her on the third Secret. In their account published in 1955, they confirmed that the third Secret “<i><b><span style="color: red;">had to be opened and divulged in 1960</span></b></i>.” (A. O. Armstrong, <i>Fatima, pilgrimage to peace</i>, The World’s Work, Kingswood, Surrey, 1955)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Cardinal Ottaviani</b>: On May 17, 1955, Cardinal Ottaviani, Pro-Prefect of the Holy Office, came to the Carmel of Saint Teresa at Coimbra. He interrogated Lucy on the third Secret; and in his conference of 1967 recalled: “<i>The message was not to be opened before 1960. I asked Sister Lucy, ‘</i><span style="color: red;">Why this date?</span><i>’ She answered, ‘<b><span style="color: red;">Because then it will seem clearer</span></b> (mais claro)</i>.’” (<i>La Documentation catholique</i>, March 19, 1967, col. 542)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Father Joaquin Alonso</b>, <b>official archivist of Fatima</b>: “<i>Other bishops also spoke - and with authority - about the year 1960 as the date indicated for opening the famous letter. Thus, when the then titular Bishop of Tiava, and Auxiliary Bishop of Lisbon asked Lucy when the Secret was to be opened, he always received the same answer: <b><span style="color: red;">in 1960</span></b></i>.” (<i>La Verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatim</i>a, Fr. Joaquin Alonso, Spanish Edition, p. 46)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Father Joaquin Alonso</b>: “<i>When Don Jose, the first Bishop of Leiria, and Sister Lucy agreed that the letter was to be opened <b><span style="color: red;">in 1960</span></b>, they obviously meant that its contents should be made public for the good of the Church and the world</i>.” (ibid., p. 54)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Bishop Venancio</b>: “<i>I think that the letter will not be opened before 1960. Sister Lucy had asked that it should not be opened before her death, or not before 1960. We are now in 1959 and Sister Lucy is in good health</i>.” (<i>La Verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatima</i>, Fr. Joaquin Alonso, Spanish Edition, p. 46)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Father Fuentes</b>: Father Fuentes interviewed Sister Lucy on December 26, 1957, who told him: “<i><span style="color: blue;">Father, the Most Holy Virgin is very sad because no one has paid attention to Her Message, neither the good nor the bad. The good continue on their way but without giving any importance to Her Message . . . I am still not able to give any other details because it is still a secret. According to the will of the Most Holy Virgin, only the Holy Father and the Bishop of Fatima are permitted to know the Secret, but they have chosen not to know it so that they would not be influenced. </span><b><span style="color: red;">This is the third part [third Secret] of the Message of Our Lady which will remain secret until 1960</span></b></i>.” (<i>La Verdad sobre el Secreto de Fatima</i>, Fr. Joaquin Alonso, Spanish Edition, p. 103-104)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>F. Stein</b>: “<i>The testimonies which have announced the revelation of the Secret for 1960 are of such weight and so numerous that in our opinion, even if the ecclesiastical authorities of Fatima [in 1959 the experts themselves were still unaware that Rome had taken the Secret from the Bishop of Leiria over two years previously] had not yet resolved to publish the Secret in 1960, they would now see themselves forced to do so by the circumstances</i>.” (<i>Mensagem de Fatima</i>, July-August, 1959)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Father Dias Coelho</b>: “<i>. . . we can use, as an unquestionable fact, this assertion of Dr. Galamba de Oliveira (in 1953) in Fatima, Altar do Mundo: ‘The third part of the Secret was sealed in the hands of His Grace the Bishop of Leiria, and will be opened either after the seer’s death or at the latest in 1960</i>.’” (<i>L’Homme Nouveau</i>, No. 269, November 22, 1959)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">All testimonies and statements reveal clearly that Heaven wanted the third secret of Fatima revealed to the whole world <b><span style="color: red;">no later than 1960, because it would be clearer then</span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Why would the third secret of Fatima be clearer in 1960?</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It was <b><span style="color: red;">on Jan. 25, 1959 that John XXIII announced that he had a special inspiration to suddenly call a new ecumenical council.</span></b> (Jan. 25, by the way, was the same day on which the unknown light that illuminated the world prior to World War II lit up the skies of Europe. This unknown light that appeared on Jan. 25, 1938 was predicted by Our Lady of Fatima as a warning that God was going to punish the world with the things that were revealed in the second part of the secret. Was the fact that John XXIII called Vatican II on a Jan. 25 a warning about the coming punishment described in the third secret?)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This council called by John XXIII in 1959 would turn out to be Vatican II, the disastrous results of which are the subject of this book. Is the calling of this council in 1959 the reason that Our Blessed Mother requested the third secret of Fatima to be revealed by 1960? Was she directly warning us of the apostasy that would result from this council, which truly gave birth to a new, phony Counter-Catholic Church, as we will see in this book? Truly, the<span style="color: red;"><b> only major sign that had occurred by 1960, in regard to the tremendous apostasy we are now living through that would makes things “clearer,” was that John XXIII had announced his intention to call a new council in 1959</b></span>. In our view, it’s quite obvious that the <b><span style="color: red;">third secret of Fatima deals with the apostasy resulting from a false council; otherwise the third secret wouldn’t make more sense in 1960</span></b>, as Our Blessed Mother said it would.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-5243725872150017392013-02-26T11:02:00.000+08:002013-02-26T11:02:07.383+08:00The Great Apostasy<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gfh4oB95Ncc/USwXUQflkaI/AAAAAAAAPN8/jwebqfUa-o4/s1600/The+Truth+about+What+Really+Happened+to+the+Catholic+Church+after+Vatican+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gfh4oB95Ncc/USwXUQflkaI/AAAAAAAAPN8/jwebqfUa-o4/s640/The+Truth+about+What+Really+Happened+to+the+Catholic+Church+after+Vatican+II.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">John Paul II during a syncretist prayer gathering with various false religious leaders at Assisi in 1986 - This "ecumenical" activity was always condemned by the Catholic Church, and specifically labeled as a complete rejection of the Catholic Faith by Pope Pius XI in 1928. This is a revolution against the Faith - a new Gospel.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the <a href="http://mostholyfamilymonastery.com/">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> which is written by, and is the intellectual product of Bro. Michael Dimond and Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: red;">The Truth about What Really Happened to the Catholic Church after Vatican II&nbsp;</span></u></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">1. <u>The Great Apostasy and a counterfeit Church predicted in the New Testament and in Catholic Prophecy</u></span></b>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Luke 18:8</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">But yet the Son of man, when he cometh, shall he find, think you, faith on earth?</span></b>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the Gospel, Our Lord Jesus Christ informs us that in the last days the true Faith would hardly be found on the earth. He tells us that “<i>in the holy place</i>” itself there will be “<i>the abomination of desolation</i>” (<i>Mt. 24:15</i>), and a deception so profound that, if it were possible, even the elect would be deceived (<i>Mt. 24:24</i>). &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 24:15</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">When therefore you shall see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of by Daniel the prophet, <u>standing in the holy place</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">: he that readeth let him understand</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 24:24-25</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">For there shall arise false Christs and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders, </span><b><span style="color: red;">insomuch as to deceive (<i>if possible</i>) even the elect</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. &nbsp;Behold I have told it to you, beforehand</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>2 Thess. 2:3-5</b> - “<span style="color: blue;">Let no man deceive you by any means, for unless there come </span><b><i><span style="color: red;"><u>a revolt</u></span></i></b><span style="color: blue;"> [</span><i style="color: blue;">apostasy</i><span style="color: blue;">] first, and the man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, Who opposeth, and is lifted up above all that is called God, or that is worshipped, </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">so that he sitteth in the temple of God</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;">, shewing himself as if he were God. &nbsp;Remember you not, that when I was yet with you, I told you these things?</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1903, Pope St. Pius X thought that he might be seeing the beginning of the evils which will fully come to pass in the last days.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X,<i> E Supremi</i> (# 5), Oct. 4, 1903: “. . . <b><span style="color: red;">there is good reason to fear lest this great perversity may be as it were a foretaste, and perhaps the beginning of those evils which are reserved for the last days; and that there may already be in the world the ‘<i>Son of Perdition</i>’ of whom the Apostle speaks</span></b> (<i>2 Thess. 2:3</i>).”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">The New Testament tells us that this deception will happen in the very heart of the Church’s physical structures, in “<i>the Temple of God</i>” (<i>2 Thess. 2:4</i>) and “<i>in the holy place</i>” (<i>Mt. 24:15</i>)</span></b>. It will arise because people receive not the love of the truth (<i>2 Thessalonians 2:10</i>).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 2 Thessalonians 2, St. Paul speaks of the last days being characterized by a great apostasy that will be the worst ever – even worse than was experienced in the Arian crisis in the 4th century, in which an authentically Catholic priest was hardly to be found.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. William Jurgens: “At one point in the Church’s history, only a few years before Gregory’s [<i>Nazianz</i>] present preaching (<i>A.D. 380</i>), <b><span style="color: red;">perhaps the number of Catholic bishops in possession of sees, as opposed to Arian bishops in possession of sees, was no greater than something between 1% and 3% of the total</span></b>. Had doctrine been determined by popularity, today we should all be deniers of Christ and opponents of the Spirit.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. William Jurgens: “<b><span style="color: red;">In the time of the Emperor Valens (<i>4th century</i>), Basil was virtually the only orthodox Bishop in all the East who succeeded in retaining charge of his see . . .</span></b> If it has no other importance for modern man, a knowledge of the history of Arianism should demonstrate at least that the Catholic Church takes no account of popularity and numbers in shaping and maintaining doctrine: else, we should long since have had to abandon Basil and Hilary and Athanasius and Liberius and Ossius and call ourselves after Arius.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. Gregory Nazianz (+<i>380</i>), <i>Against the Arians</i>: “Where are they who revile us for our poverty and pride themselves in their riches? <b><span style="color: red;">They who define the Church by numbers and scorn the little flock?</span></b>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If the Arian crisis – just a prelude to the Great Apostasy – was this extensive, how extensive will the Great Apostasy foretold by Our Lord and Saint Paul be? &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Prophecy of St. Nicholas of Fluh (1417-1487): “The Church will be punished because the majority of her members, high and low, will become so perverted. <b><span style="color: red;">The Church will sink deeper and deeper until she will at last seem to be extinguished, and the succession of Peter and the other Apostles to have expired</span></b>. But, after this, she will be victoriously exalted in the sight of all doubters.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. Paul further says that this apostasy will result in a man sitting in the temple of God and “<i>shewing himself as if he were God</i>.” Later in this book, we prove that this is exactly what has happened by a man sitting in St. Peter’s Basilica declaring that he and everyone else is God.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Herman Kramer was a Catholic priest who spent 30 years studying and writing a book on the Apocalypse. In his book, he wrote the following about St. Paul’s prophecy concerning the Antichrist sitting in the Temple of God. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“St. Paul says that Antichrist ‘<i>sitteth in the temple of God</i>’ . . . This is <b><u><span style="color: red;">not</span></u></b> the ancient Temple of Jerusalem, nor a temple like it built by Antichrist, as some have thought, for then it would be his own temple . . . this temple is shown to be a Catholic Church, possibly one of the churches in Jerusalem or <b><u><span style="color: red;">St. Peter’s in Rome, which is the largest church in the world and is in the full sense ‘<i>The Temple of God</i></span></u></b>.’”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Notice that Kramer says that “<i>the Temple of God</i>” probably refers to St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Quinguagesimo ante</i> (#30), Dec. 23, 1929: “. . . such a great number of them <u><span style="color: red;">came to the Basilica of St. Peter’s</span></u> for the jubilee of indulgence that We have probably <b><span style="color: red;">never seen that great temple so crowded</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <i>Catholic Encyclopedia</i> article on “<i>Antichrist</i>” indicates that St. Bernard believed that the Antichrist would be an antipope: &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“. . . St. Bernard speaks in the passage of the Antipope [<i>as the Beast of the Apocalypse</i>].” Bl. Joachim (<i>d. 1202</i>): “Towards the end of the world, Antichrist will overthrow the pope and usurp his see.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But whether or not one believes that the Antichrist will be an antipope, it has definitely been prophesied that the forces of Antichrist will overtake Rome in the final days. On Sept. 19, 1846, Our Lady of La Salette prophesied that Rome would lose the Faith and become the Seat of the Antichrist in a final days apostasy from the one true Catholic Faith.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our Lady of La Salette, Sept. 19, 1846: “<b><span style="color: red;">Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Anti-Christ… the Church will be in eclipse</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v6ypxpBtt6A/USwhfawB4wI/AAAAAAAAPOs/iSmRLUK7ZP4/s1600/La+Salette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="244" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-v6ypxpBtt6A/USwhfawB4wI/AAAAAAAAPOs/iSmRLUK7ZP4/s320/La+Salette.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BW0jqZulU5U/USwiK9jnr_I/AAAAAAAAPO0/XM8OmUZ7rhE/s1600/Our+Lady+of+La+Salette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-BW0jqZulU5U/USwiK9jnr_I/AAAAAAAAPO0/XM8OmUZ7rhE/s320/Our+Lady+of+La+Salette.jpg" width="285" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This startling prophecy coincides with the prophecies in Sacred Scripture (<i>Apocalypse 17 and 18</i>), which inform us that the city of seven hills (<i>Rome</i>) will become a harlot (<i>a counterfeit Bride of Christ</i>), which will commit spiritual fornication (<i>idolatry</i>) and tread upon the blood of the saints &nbsp;(<i>false ecumenism</i>). The great harlot prophesied in the Bible is not the Catholic Church; it is a counterfeit Catholic Church, an apostate, phony Bride which arises in the last days to deceive Catholics and eclipse the true Church which has been reduced to a remnant. In this book we will bring forward the overwhelming, undeniable, irrefutable evidence from doctrinal grounds and unassailable facts that the “<i>Church</i>” which has arisen with the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) is not the Catholic Church at all, but rather a massively fraudulent Counter-Church which denies the fundamental teachings of the Catholic Church.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We will show that the men who imposed this new Vatican II religion and the New Mass were not Catholics at all, but manifest heretics preaching a new religion.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">In fact, any doubts about the authenticity of Our Lady’s message at La Salette will be obliterated by a careful examination of the evidence in this book</span></b>. Among other things, this book will document that the Vatican now teaches that Jews are perfectly free <b><u><span style="color: red;">not</span></u></b> to believe in Jesus Christ.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XNXDzrK0N_4/USwjsUheQXI/AAAAAAAAPPA/RDeQAM56q7E/s1600/Apostasy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XNXDzrK0N_4/USwjsUheQXI/AAAAAAAAPPA/RDeQAM56q7E/s320/Apostasy.jpg" width="293" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This may startle some, but this is a fact. Without even considering all of the other apostasy which we will cover in this book, this fact proves that Our Lady’s words have come true: Rome (<i>not the Catholic Church</i>) has lost the Faith (<i>given way to a non-Catholic, counterfeit sect</i>) and become the seat of the Antichrist. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In late 2001, the Pontifical Biblical Commission released a book entitled <i>The Jewish People and the Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible</i>. The book <b><u><span style="color: red;">argues that the Jews’ continued wait for the Messiah is validated and justified by the Old Testament</span></u></b>. “<i>The expectancy of the Messiah was justified in the Old Testament</i>,” papal spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls explained, “<i>and if the Old Testament keeps its value, then it keeps that as a value, too.</i> <b><span style="color: red;"><u>It says you cannot just say all the Jews are wrong and we are right</u></span></b>.” Asked by reporters whether his statements might be taken to suggest that the Messiah may not in fact have come, Navarro-Valls replied, “<i>It means it would be wrong for a Catholic to wait for the Messiah,</i> <span style="color: red;"><u><b>but not for a Jew</b></u></span>.” This means that the Vatican now holds that the Jews are perfectly free to reject Christ; this is the teaching of the Vatican II “<i>popes</i>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Rome has lost the Faith and become the seat of the Antichrist. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1 John 2:22</b> – “<i>Who is a liar, but <b><u><span style="color: red;">he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist</span></u></b>, who denieth the Father, and the Son</i>.” But how did this come about, and what are Catholics to do about it? This book will endeavor to answer both of those questions in detail.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-68528766834467542672013-02-26T09:43:00.000+08:002013-02-26T09:43:51.564+08:00Vatican II sect - The Whore of Babylon<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nweqgi93hWI/USvzphCUgRI/AAAAAAAAPMc/1PnQSjeXbpw/s1600/Vatican+II.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="376" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-nweqgi93hWI/USvzphCUgRI/AAAAAAAAPMc/1PnQSjeXbpw/s640/Vatican+II.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/apocalypse.php" target="_blank">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> which is written by, and is the intellectual product of Bro. Michael Dimond and Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><br /><b><u><span style="color: blue;">Is the Vatican II sect the Whore of Babylon prophesied in the Apocalypse?</span></u></b><br /><br /><b>Apocalypse 17:4</b> - "<b><i><span style="color: red;">And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication</span></i></b>."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">None of the points which follow are necessary to prove that the Vatican II sect and its antipopes are not Catholic. The doctrinal evidence covered throughout this book proves this in detail. However, the points which follow are interesting and enlightening as they help to further explain why this catastrophic crisis is occurring, and what to make of it.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:1</b>: "<span style="color: red;">And there came one of the seven angels, who had the seven vials, and spoke with me, saying: Come, I will show thee the condemnation of <b>the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters</b> . . .</span>"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Chapters 17 and 18 of the Apocalypse make striking prophecies about the “<i>great harlot</i>” or the “Whore of Babylon” which will arise in the last days from the city of seven hills. Rome was constructed on seven hills. This is why throughout history Rome has been identified as the city of seven hills mentioned in the Apocalypse. Based on this, Protestants throughout the centuries have accused the Catholic Church of being the Whore of Babylon. But the Protestants are wrong, of course, because the Catholic Church is the immaculate Bride of Christ, the one true Church He founded. What <span style="color: red;">the Whore of Babylon describes, however, is <b><i>a counterfeit Bride</i></b> – <i><b>a Counter-Catholic Church</b></i></span> – which arises in the last days in order to deceive Catholics (<i>the true faithful</i>), tread upon the faith and commit spiritual fornication.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;<b><span style="color: blue;">1. <u>The whore sits upon many waters</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we saw already, the great harlot sits upon many waters. The Apocalypse clues us in as to what these waters are.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:15</b> - "And he said to me: <b><span style="color: red;">The waters which thou sawest, where the harlot sitteth, are peoples, and nations, and tongues</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>Peoples, nations, and tongues</i>" are suggestive of global influence, something which has influence in all ends of the earth. Immediately Rome and the Catholic Church come to mind. The Catholic Church’s universal mission has incorporated faithful from all peoples, nations and tongues.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Fidei donum</i> (# 46), April 21, 1957: “Now, <b><span style="color: red;">our holy Mother the Church is indeed the Mother ‘of all nations, of all peoples</span></b>, as well as of individual persons . . .”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And <u>since Rome is the headquarters of the universal Church</u>, <b><span style="color: red;">if Rome were taken over by an antipope who imposed a new religion, it could then influence almost all of the peoples, nations and tongues into its spiritual infidelity</span></b>. That is why the harlot sits upon peoples, nations and tongues. In fact, the Council of Trent infallibly confirms our hunch – that the waters upon which the harlot sits are connected with the almost universal expanse that a final days, counterfeit Catholic Church would have if an antipope or set of antipopes successfully overtook Rome – with alarming specificity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IV, <i>Council of Trent</i>, Session 22, On the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass: "The holy synod then admonishes priests that it has been prescribed by the Church to mix water with the wine to be offered in the chalice, not only because the belief is that Christ the Lord did so, but also because there came from His side water together with blood, since by this mixture the sacrament is recalled. &nbsp;<b><span style="color: red;">And since in the Apocalypse of the blessed John the peoples are called waters [<i>Apoc. 17:1, 15</i>], the union of the faithful people with Christ, their head, is represented</span></b>."</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Notice that the Council of Trent infallibly declares that the waters of <b>Apoc. 17:1,15</b> represent the union of the faithful people with Christ; in other words, the Catholic Church. <b><span style="color: red;">The great harlot sits upon these waters!</span></b> Therefore, it is of the Catholic faith that the great harlot sits upon the Catholic Church, that is, she impedes, obstructs, suppresses and attempts to substitute for her. <b><span style="color: red;">This is a perfect description of the false Church that arose with Vatican Council II</span></b>, which has successfully deceived most of the world into thinking that it is the true Catholic Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Understanding that the "<i>waters</i>" of the Apocalypse represent the peoples, nations, and tongues of the Catholic Church, could be the key to understanding other important verses in this book. For example, Apoc. 18:17 talks about how the shipmasters and the mariners wept over the destruction of the great city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:17</b>- "For in one hour are so great riches come to nought; and<span style="color: red;"> <b>every shipmaster, and all that sail into the lake, and mariners, and as many as work in the sea</b></span>, stood afar off, And cried, seeing the place of her burning, saying: What city is like to this great city?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The shipmasters, mariners and those that work in the sea represent those who work with souls in the Catholic Church; that is, priests, religious, etc. They weep over the desolation of Rome and wonder how in such a short time she has been brought down.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">2. <u>The whore sits upon the city of seven mountains</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:9&nbsp;</b>- "And here is the understanding that hath wisdom. The seven heads <b><span style="color: red;">are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth</span></b>, and they are seven kings."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As stated already, Rome was constructed on seven hills. Since the great harlot sits upon the city of seven hills, the great harlot sits upon Rome itself – the center of unity in the Catholic Church and the home of the Roman Pontiffs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Benedict XIV, <i>Apostolica Constituti</i>o (# 4), June 26, 1749: "<b><span style="color: red;">. . . the Catholic Church is signified by the City of Rome alone</span></b>, in which the bodily presence of this Apostle [<i>Peter</i>] is carefully reverenced . . ."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Interestingly, <u>Rome only gives way to the great harlot in the last days</u> – i.e., after the Vatican II revolution. This is why the harlot is only mentioned in the book of the Apocalypse. And this is why Sacred Scripture speaks of the "<i>fall</i>" of Babylon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:2</b> - "And he cried out with a loud strong voice, saying: <b><span style="color: red;">Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen</span></b>; and <u>is become</u> the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Babylon has historically been regarded as a code name for Rome.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>1 Peter 5:13</b> - "The Church that is in <b><span style="color: red;">Babylon</span></b>, elected together with you, saluteth you: and so doth my son Mark."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Scripture scholars understand that St. Peter was writing this epistle from Rome, which he calls “<i>Babylon</i>.” Therefore, Rome is Babylon and Babylon has fallen. But if it has fallen, then it once stood strongly. And is this not true? For prior to its fall, Rome (<i>Babylon</i>) was the bulwark of Catholicism and the center of Christianity - the great city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:18</b> - "And the woman which thou sawest, is the great city, which hath kingdom over the kings of the earth."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some may ask: "If Rome is the 'great city,' why does <b>Apocalypse 11:8</b> say that the great city is the place where Our Lord was crucified, which is Jerusalem?" The answer is that it doesn’t actually say that:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apoc. 11:8</b> - “[<i>the two witnesses</i>] shall lie in the street of the great city, <b><span style="color: red;"><i>which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, <u>even where</u> their Lord was crucified</i></span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Notice that, contrary to what some have claimed, the Apocalypse doesn’t clearly state that the two witnesses (<i>which some believe describe Peter and Paul</i>) are killed in the city where Our Lord was crucified. Notice that the passage could very well mean that the great city is called Sodom and Egypt even where their Lord was crucified. In other words, the great city, Rome, is referred to as “<i>Sodom</i>” and “<i>Egypt</i>” as far away as Jerusalem (<i>where their Lord was crucified</i>) because of its immoralities! &nbsp;This makes sense when we consider that Rome was notorious for its corruption. Hence, this passage doesn’t clearly prove, as some have suggested, that Jerusalem must be the great city.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Another consideration is that the Mystical Body of Christ is being crucified in and from Rome at present, so in that sense it would also be accurate to say that Rome is the place where Our Lord is crucified in His Mystical Body.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The great city is Rome. Historically, no other city has ruled over the kings of the Earth as has Rome, which has a spiritual and ecclesiastical primacy which all nations must be subject to.</div><br />Pope Leo XII, <i>Quod Hoc Ineunte</i> (# 6), May 24, 1824: <b><span style="color: red;">"Come therefore to this holy Jerusalem, a priestly and royal city which the sacred seat of Peter has made the capitol of the world. <i><u>Truly it rules more widely by divine religion than by earthly domination</u></i></span></b>."<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">And whether the kings of the earth want to accept it or not, all human creatures must be subject to the spiritual power of the Catholic Church, which (<i>when there is a true pope</i>) is exercised from Rome.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Boniface VIII, <i>Unam Sanctam</i>, Nov. 18, 1302: "Now, therefore, <b><span style="color: red;">we declare, say, determine and pronounce that for every human creature it is necessary for salvation to be subject to the Roman pontiff</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So the fall of the great city is the fall of Rome from the Catholic faith. It’s not the fall of the Catholic Church, for the Catholic Church can exist without Rome. &nbsp;It can be reduced to a remnant, just as it is predicted by Our Lord when He speaks about the end of the world (<i>Luke 18:8</i>). Rome, on the other hand, can't exist without Catholicism. Without it, she becomes nothing more than “the habitation of devils, and the hold of every unclean spirit, and the hold of every unclean and hateful bird” (<i>Apoc. 18:2</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our Lady of La Salette, Sept. 19, 1846, an approved apparition of the Catholic Church: “<b><i><span style="color: red;">Rome will lose the Faith and become the seat of the Anti-Christ</span></i></b>.” &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">3. <u>The whore is a woman</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:6-7</b> -"And I saw <b><span style="color: red;">the woman</span></b> drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. And I wondered, when I had seen <b><u><span style="color: red;">her</span></u></b>, with great admiration. And the angel said to me: Why dost thou wonder? I will tell thee the mystery of <b><span style="color: red;">the woman</span></b>, and of the beast which carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If it is true that the Whore of Babylon is the phony Catholic Church that began with the Vatican II revolution (<i>as the evidence in this book overwhelmingly shows</i>), it would make sense that this apocalyptic entity is described as a woman, in order to contrast her with another woman – her antithesis – the Catholic Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Boniface VIII, <i>Unam Sanctam</i>, Nov. 18, 1302: "'One is my dove, my perfect one. <b><span style="color: red;">One she is</span></b> of her mother, the chosen of her that bore her' [<i>Cant. 6:8</i>]; which represents the one mystical body whose head is Christ, of Christ indeed, as God."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">4. <u>The whore is a mother</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:5</b> - "And on her forehead a name was written: A mystery; Babylon the great, <b><span style="color: red;">the mother of the fornications</span></b>, and the abominations of the earth."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catholics have always referred to the Church as their mother.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Satis Cognitum</i> (# 16), June 29, 1896: Let us love the Lord our God; let us love His Church; the Lord as our Father, <b><span style="color: red;">the Church as our Mother</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Mortalium Animos</i> (# 11), Jan. 6, 1928: "For if, as they continually state, they long to be united with Us and ours, why do they not hasten to enter the Church, '<b><span style="color: red;">the Mother</span></b> and mistress of <b><span style="color: red;">all Christ's faithful</span></b>'?"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mystici Corporis Christi</i> (# 66), June 29, 1943: "<b><span style="color: red;">Certainly the loving Mother is spotless</span></b> in the Sacraments, by which she gives birth to and nourishes her children; in the faith which she has always preserved inviolate . . ."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In fact, the Roman Church is specifically called the “<i>mother and mistress</i>” of all the churches (<i>i.e. all the particular churches in communion with the universal Catholic Church</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Exeunte Iam Anno</i> (# 2), Dec. 25, 1888: ". . . <b><span style="color: red;">the Roman Church, mother and mistress of all Churches</span></b> . . ."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s quite obvious that the Apocalypse describes the Whore of Babylon as the “<i>mother of the fornications</i>” because the Counter Church overtakes Rome, where a true pope normally presides over the Mother Church. Rome has become the mother fornicator in an almost universal counterfeit Catholic Church of the last days. And we see this in action: the apostasy and spiritual fornication of the Counter Church starts in Rome and then spreads to all of the local churches in the counterfeit sect. For example: the religious indifferentism practiced in Rome is spread to the rest of the false Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus, as the Catholic Church is our loving Mother, the whore is the Mother of the fornications. And as the Catholic Church is the Mother of all Christ's faithful, the whore is the Mother of Christ's unfaithful, that is, those who have abandoned the Church and accepted the new Vatican II religion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">5. <u>The whore is clothed in purple and scarlet</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:4</b> - "And <b><span style="color: red;"><u>the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet</u></span></b>, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:16</b> - "And saying: Alas! alas! that great city, <b><span style="color: red;">which was clothed with fine linen, and purple, and scarlet</span></b>, and was gilt with gold, and precious stones, and pearls."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is perhaps one of the most revealing verses in the Apocalypse. In the Catholic Church, bishops wear purple and cardinals wear scarlet (<i>red</i>)! Notice that they are clothed “<i>round abou</i>t” (<i>around their waists</i>) in these colors.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C7jqRyrbP94/USwAy4CNtWI/AAAAAAAAPNM/OKtNvh0Fd2E/s1600/cardinals+and+bishops.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="424" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-C7jqRyrbP94/USwAy4CNtWI/AAAAAAAAPNM/OKtNvh0Fd2E/s640/cardinals+and+bishops.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red;"><b>Cardinals (</b></span><i style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">in scarlet at the top</i><span style="color: red;"><b>) and bishops (</b></span><i style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">in purple at the bottom</i><span style="color: red;"><b>) at the Vatican.</b></span><br />(Note: Above image is lifted by the Author of this blog from the Internet).</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">By choosing to describe the Whore of Babylon as a woman “<i>clothed with fine linen, and purple, and scarlet</i>,” God is giving us <b><u><span style="color: red;">a clear indication</span></u></b> that the whore is <b><u><span style="color: red;">clothed</span></u></b> in the colors of the true episcopate and cardinalate. God is giving us a clear indication that the whore is clothed in these colors because <b><span style="color: red;">externally she gives all the appearances of being the true Church of Christ</span></b> – she has dioceses, a hierarchy, the property of the Church, vestments, ceremonies, "<i>sacraments</i>," a "<i>pope</i>," etc. – <b><u><span style="color: red;">but inwardly she is a fraud</span></u></b>. This is a perfect description of the Church of the Vatican II sect, the end-time Counter Church, which is clothed with the colors of Catholicism (<i>and appears to most to be just that</i>) but inwardly is a false apostate religion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">6. <u>The whore has a golden cup in her hand</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:4</b> - "And the woman was clothed round about with purple and scarlet, and gilt with gold, and precious stones and pearls, <b><span style="color: red;">having a golden cup in her hand</span></b>, full of the abomination and filthiness of her fornication."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Priests offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Catholic Church are required to use a chalice of gold, if possible. It's no coincidence that the whore has a golden cup in her hand. The whore, as usual, is mimicking, acting and pretending to be the Catholic Church; but she is not. A Catholic priest offers the golden chalice full of the Precious Blood of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. <b><span style="color: red;">The whore offers a cup (<i>chalice</i>) full of abomination and filthiness – the invalid wine of the New Mass!</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In particular, this verse is referring to the <i>Novus Ordo Missae</i> (<i>the New Mass</i>), which does not contain the Blood of Jesus Christ, but an offering which is an abomination in His sight.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:6</b> - "Render to her as she also hath rendered to you; and double unto her double according to her works: <b><span style="color: red;">in the cup wherein she hath mingled</span></b>, mingle ye double unto her."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The word mingle means to mix. In the Catholic Mass, the Church mingles the water with the wine in the chalice.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, Session 8, Nov. 22, 1439, "<i>Exultate Deo</i>": "For blessed Alexander, the fifth Pope after blessed Peter, says: '<i>In the offerings of the sacraments which are offered to the Lord within the solemnities of Masses, let only bread and <b><span style="color: red;">wine mixed with water be offered as a sacrifice</span></b>. For either wine alone or water alone must not be offered in the chalice of the Lord, but both mixed, because it is read that both, that is, blood and water, flowed from the side of Christ.</i>' Then also, because it is fitting to signify the effect of this sacrament, which is the union of the Christian people with Christ. For water signifies the people, according to the passage in the Apocalypse: '<i>the many waters . . . are many people</i>' [<i>Apoc. 17:15</i>] . . . Therefore, <b><span style="color: red;">when wine and water are mixed</span></b> in the chalice the people are made one with Christ, and the multitude of the faithful is joined and connected with Him in whom it believes."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">The symbolism of Apocalypse 18:6 – mingling in a cup – couldn’t be more obvious without giving away the mystery of the verse</span></b>. It's an obvious reference to the Mass, which has been completely perverted by the harlot. She has nothing left to offer to God in her cup but filthiness and abomination (<i>Apoc. 17:4</i>). Furthermore, this verse (<i>18:6</i>) points to a specific point in the Mass, the mixing of wine and water. This action of mixing signifies the union of the Christian people with Christ (<i>the Catholic Church</i>), as Pope Eugene IV defined at the Council of Florence. As we have shown, this is the precise signification which has been removed from the consecration of the New Mass, rendering it invalid!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In one and the same verse, therefore, God is revealing that the whore is conducting massive spiritual fornication in areas which regard the Catholic Mass and the Catholic Church as a whole. It is a startling description of the Vatican II sect: the end-time Counter-Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">7. <u>The whore is characterized by fornication and whoredom</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:1-2</b> - "Come, I will show thee the condemnation of <b><span style="color: red;">the great harlot</span></b>, who sitteth upon many waters, With whom the kings of the earth <b><span style="color: red;">have committed fornication</span></b>; and they who inhabit the earth have been made drunk with the wine of <b><span style="color: red;">her whoredom</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:3</b> - "Because all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of <b><span style="color: red;">her fornication</span></b>; and <b><span style="color: red;">the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her</span></b>; and the merchants of the earth have been made rich by the power of her delicacies."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s simply a fact that when the term fornication is used in Holy Scripture, many times it describes idolatry and spiritual infidelity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Exodus 34:16</b> - “Neither shalt thou take of their daughters to wife for thy son, lest after they themselves have committed fornication, <b><span style="color: red;">they make thy sons also to commit fornication with their gods</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Judges 2:17</b> - “<b><span style="color: red;">Committing fornication with strange gods</span></b>, and adoring them. They quickly forsook the way, in which their fathers had walked: and hearing the commandments of the Lord, they did all things contrary.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Many other passages could be given to show that Scripture describes spiritual infidelity and idolatry as fornication, whoredom and harlotry. When a “<i>great harlot</i>” committing world-wide fornication is spoken of in this context, it clearly indicates apostasy from the one true Faith. As we have proven in this book, apostasy from the one true Faith and an acceptance of false gods/idolatrous religions is exactly what most characterizes the Vatican II Counter Church and the Vatican II apostasy. It has put the demonic “<i>gods</i>” of the pantheon of world religions on a par with the true God of the Catholic Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This fornication which begins from apostate Rome and its antipopes (above) has been spread and imbibed all over the Earth (below), as we’ve shown.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Whore of Babylon is guilty of spiritual fornication to such an extent that this is the action which characterizes her title - the "<i>great harlot</i>." By such a description, God is directly contrasting the whore with the Catholic Church; for the Church <b><span style="color: red;">is a woman who is characterized by her unwavering fidelity to her Spouse, Jesus Christ</span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Mortalium Animos</i> (# 10), Jan. 6, 1928: "During the lapse of centuries, the mystical Spouse of Christ has never been contaminated, nor can she ever in the future be contaminated, as Cyprian bears witness: '<b><i><span style="color: red;">The Bride of Christ cannot be made false to her Spouse: she is incorrupt and modest. She knows but one dwelling, she guards the sanctity of the nuptial chamber chastely and modestly</span></i></b>.'"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So just as the whore is notorious for her impurity, the Catholic Church is known for her chastity.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Siricius, epistle (1) <i>Directa ad decessorem</i> to Himerius, Feb. 10, 385: "And so He has wished the beauty of the Church, whose spouse He is, <b><span style="color: red;">to radiate with the splendor of chastit</span></b>y, so that on the day of judgment, when He will have come again, <b><span style="color: red;">He may be able to find her without spot or wrinkle</span></b> [<i>Eph. 5:27</i>] as He instituted her through His apostle."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Church is "<i>the Immaculate Bride of Christ</i>." The "<i>great harlot</i>" represents nothing but the greatest mockery of the immaculate Bride of Christ in history.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Hadrian I, <i>Second Council of Nicaea</i>, 787: ". . . <b><span style="color: red;">Christ our God, when He took for His Bride His Holy Catholic Church, having no blemish or wrinkle, promised he would guard her and assured His holy disciples saying, I am with you every day until the consummation of the world</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">8. <u>The whore has separated from her Spouse</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:7</b> - "As much as she hath glorified herself, and lived in delicacies, so much torment and sorrow give ye to her; <b><span style="color: red;">because she saith in her heart: I sit a queen, and am</span></b> no widow; and sorrow I shall not see."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In another amazing verse, the Apocalypse tells us that the whore says to herself, “I sit a queen and am no widow.” She isn't a widow because her (<i>former</i>) Spouse is not dead.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 1:17-18</b> - "And when I had seen him, I fell at his feet as dead. And he laid his right hand upon me, saying: Fear not. I am the First and the Last, And alive, and was dead, <b><span style="color: red;">and behold I am living forever and ever</span></b>, and have the keys of death and of hell."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Church’s Spouse is Jesus Christ. The whore, being a counterfeit Church that has broken from the Catholic Church, therefore had Jesus Christ as her Spouse until she separated herself from Jesus Christ by leaving His traditions and teachings. Instead of being a faithful spouse, the whore has become her own queen, who is happy imposing on others her own will and glory, her own teachings and religion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But whereas the whore has separated herself from the Catholic Church by forming a religion and a “<i>Church</i>” of her own, the Bride of Christ – the Catholic Church – always maintains union with Her Spouse, even if most of the world has left her to join the whore.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mystici Corporis</i> Christi (# 89), June 29, 1943: "This opinion is false; for <b><span style="color: red;">the divine Redeemer is most closely united not only with His Church, which is His beloved Spouse</span></b>, but also with each and every one of the faithful, and He ardently desires to speak with them heart to heart, especially after Holy Communion."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">9. <u>The light of the lamp shall shine no more in the whore</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apocalypse 18:23- "<b><span style="color: red;">And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee; and the voice of the bridegroom and the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee</span></b>: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The "<i>light of the lamp</i>" is a reference to the sanctuary lamp found in Catholic churches. <b><span style="color: red;">This lamp signifies Christ's real presence in the Eucharist</span></b>. This lamp can hardly be found in Vatican II churches. In most cases, it has been moved to the side or to the back of the church. But more than the displacement of the sanctuary lamp, <b>Apocalypse 18:23</b> is indicating that Christ's real presence (<i>the valid Eucharist</i>) is no longer found in the Vatican II Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<i>The voice of the bridegroom and the bride</i>" in <b>Apocalypse 18:23</b> is a reference to Christ and His Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mystici Corporis Christi</i> (# 86), June 29, 1943: ". . . <b><span style="color: red;">he [<i>St. Paul</i>] brings Christ and His Mystical Body into a wonderfully intimate union, he nevertheless distinguishes one from the other as Bridegroom and Bride</span></b> (<i>Eph. 5:22-23</i>)."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If there were any doubt about who the Bridegroom and the Bride are, Pope Pius XII obliterates it by quoting St. Paul. Jesus Christ is the Bridegroom, and His Mystical Body, the Church, is His immaculate Bride. When the Apocalypse makes reference to the voice of the Bridegroom and the Bride, it’s another confirmation that the Whore of Babylon is the Vatican II sect – the Counter Church, which has abandoned the teaching (<i>or voice</i>) of the Bridegroom (<i>Jesus Christ</i>) and of the Bride (<i>His Church</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">10. <u>The voice of the pipe is no longer heard in the whore</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:22</b> - "<b><span style="color: red;">And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of them that play on the pipe, and on the trumpet, shall no more be heard at all in thee . . .</span></b>"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Few people today know that "<i>trumpets and harps were the standard instruments for liturgical music in St. John's day, as organs are today in the west</i>." By including the three primary instruments of Catholic liturgical music throughout history, St. John is warning us that traditional Catholic liturgical music as a whole will "no more be heard at all" in the whore. And hasn't this come true?</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We’ve already shown that since Vatican II, Gregorian chant, our beautiful musical tradition, has been replaced by every type of secular music and instrument under the sun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's so bad now that one could enter a modern "<i>Catholic</i>" Church and hear anything from boisterous drums to electric guitars. One could walk into one of these churches and even be subjected to rock music. Yet, what's perhaps most disappointing about all of this is that most people don't realize that these modern "<i>Catholic</i>" churches aren't Catholic at all, but belong entirely to the Whore of Babylon.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">11. <u>All the world is drunk with the wine of her whoredom</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:3</b> - "Because all nations have drunk of <b><span style="color: red;">the wine of the wrath of her fornication</span></b>; and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 14:8</b> - "And another angel followed, saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen; <b><span style="color: red;">which made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 16:19</b> - "And great Babylon came in remembrance before God, to give her <b><span style="color: red;">the cup of the wine of the indignation of His wrath</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:1-2</b> - "Come, I will shew thee the condemnation of the great harlot, who sitteth upon many waters. With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication; <b><span style="color: red;">and they who inhabit the earth, have been made drunk with the wine of her whoredom</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Whore of Babylon is condemned repeatedly for fornication having to do with wine. Why? As we’ve shown, it’s the change to the wine portion of the consecration that renders the New Mass invalid!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius V, <i>De Defectibus</i>, chapter 5: "The words of Consecration, which are the form of this Sacrament, are these: <i>For this is my Body</i>. And: <i>For this is the Chalice of my Blood, of the new and eternal testament: the mystery of faith, which shall be shed for you and for many unto the remission of sins</i>. <b><span style="color: red;">Now if one were to remove, or change anything in the form of the consecration of the Body and Blood, and in that very change of words the [<i>new</i>] wording would fail to mean the same thing, he would not consecrate the Sacrament</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">The reason that the whore is condemned for wine violations is because invalidating changes have been made to the WINE PORTION of the words of consecration in the New Mass</span></b>. See the earlier section on the New Mass for the full discussion. These changes to the wine portion of the consecration invalidate both consecrations. The Vatican II Church has truly "<i>made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication</i>" (<i>Apoc. 14:8</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">12. <u>The whore is drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs</u>.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Au milieu des sollicitudes</i> (#11), Feb. 16, 1892: “[Many times] . . . <b><span style="color: red;">Christians, by the mere fact of their being such, and for no other reason, were forced to choose between apostasy and martyrdom</span></b>, being allowed no alternative.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 17:6&nbsp;</b>- "<b><span style="color: red;">And I saw the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus</span></b>. And I wondered when I had seen her, with great admiration."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:24</b> - "<b><span style="color: red;">And in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints</span></b>, and of all that were slain upon the earth."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The whore can be said to be drunk with the blood of the saints on many levels. The first that comes to mind is ecumenism as it is practiced by the Vatican II sect. Prior to Vatican II, ecumenism referred to the apostolic endeavor to convert the world to Catholicism. Today, it refers to the effort to bring all religions together as one without conversion, while respecting all religions as essentially equal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Custodi Di Quella Fede</i> (# 15), Dec. 8, 1892: "<b><span style="color: red;">Every familiarity should be avoided, not only with those impious libertines who openly promote the character of the sect, but also with those who hide under the mask of universal tolerance, <u>respect for all religions</u></span></b>, and the craving to reconcile the maxims of the Gospel with those of the revolution. <b><span style="color: red;">These men seek to reconcile Christ and Belial</span></b>, the Church of God and the state without God."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Ecumenism goes directly against the divinely revealed truth that the gods of the non-Catholic religions are devils (<i>Psalm 95:5; 1 Cor. 10:20</i>), and it puts Christ on a level with Lucifer. Throughout this book we’ve exposed the false ecumenism of the Vatican II sect. The Vatican II sect considers false religions more or less good and praiseworthy. Thus, it blasphemes the memory of the saints and martyrs whose flesh was torn with iron hooks, bodies were fed to the lions, and heads were chopped off because they refused to compromise their faith one iota or say that “<i>all religions are more or less good and praiseworthy</i>.” It also mocks all the sacrifices of all the saints who gave up their lives for the priesthood, for religious life, for missionary work. All of it was unnecessary, according to the Vatican II sect.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Gregory the Great: "<b><span style="color: red;">The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her and asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Because Margaret Clitherow refused to accept the Anglican sect and its “<i>Mass</i>” – but rather invited Catholic priests into her home against the penal laws – she was martyred by being crushed to death under a large door loaded with heavy weights. This style of execution is so painful that it is called “<i>severe and harsh punishment</i>.” <b><span style="color: red;">She suffered it all because she wouldn’t accept Anglicanism</span></b>. The Vatican II sect, however, teaches that Anglicans are fellow “<i>Christians</i>” who don’t need conversion, and whose invalid “<i>bishops</i>” are actually true bishops of the Church of Christ. The Vatican II sect teaches that her martyrdom was pointless. It is thus drunk with the blood of the saints and martyrs.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">How many martyrs, such as St. Thomas More, gave their lives for one article of the Catholic faith? &nbsp;Ecumenism renders their blood-shedding acts worthless, pointless and meaningless.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Satis Cognitum</i> (# 8), June 29, 1896: "It was thus the duty of all who heard Jesus Christ, if they wished for eternal salvation, not merely to accept His doctrine as a whole, <b><span style="color: red;">but to assent with their entire mind to all and every point of it, since it is unlawful to withhold faith from God even in regard to one single point</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is why the Vatican II Church is said to be drunk with the blood of martyrs and of saints (<i>Apoc. 17:6; 18:24</i>), and all those who support this antichrist activity now headed by Benedict XVI are drunk as well.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">What’s also fascinating is that the Apocalypse mentions that <b><u><span style="color: red;">the martyrs cried out from under the altar</span></u></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apocalypse 6:9 - “And when he had opened the fifth seal,<span style="color: red;"><b> <u>I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. And they cried out with a loud voice, saying</u>: How long, O Lord (holy and true) dost thou not judge and revenge our blood</b></span> on them that dwell on the Earth?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is prescribed that <b><span style="color: red;">Catholic Mass is to be said on altars which contain the relics of martyrs!</span></b> Thus, it makes perfect sense that the martyrs, whose lives are being mocked by the Vatican II sect’s ecumenism and endorsement of false religions, are crying out from “<i>under the altar</i>”! They are crying out not only at the interreligious ecumenism which mocks their lives, but also at the liturgical abominations which occur directly over their relics in the New Mass. This striking point from Scripture should also show Protestants that the Catholic Church is the one true Church.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:20</b>, God's Judgment on the Whore - "Rejoice over her, thou heaven, and ye holy apostles and prophets; for God hath judged your judgment on her."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><u><span style="color: red;"><b>Conclusion on the Whore of Babylon</b></span></u></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It's quite obvious, in our opinion, that the Vatican II sect is the Whore of Babylon prophesied in Scripture. And contrary to what the Protestant heretics believe, the fact that ecclesiastical Rome's apostasy from the Catholic faith in the last days is predicted in Scripture proves rather than disproves the authenticity of the Catholic Church. For the tribulation of the last days will be <b><u><span style="color: red;">one which focuses on deceiving the true faithful</span></u></b>, and undermining the true Faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apocalypse 11:2- "But the court, which is without the temple, cast out, and measure it not: because it is given unto the Gentiles, <b><span style="color: red;">and the holy city they shall tread under foot two and forty months</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It should be noted that "two and forty months" (<i>Apoc. 11:2</i>), "a thousand two hundred and sixty days" (<i>Apoc. 12:6</i>), and "a time, and times, and half a time" (<i>Apoc. 12:14</i>) and 3 and 1/2 years are regarded by some scholars as symbolic of any period of persecution.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Luke 21:34-35</b> - "And take heed to yourselves, lest perhaps your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly. <b><span style="color: red;">For as a snare it shall come upon all that sit upon the face of the whole earth</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A snare is a device used to catch animals. Now, if the snare of the last days involves a counterfeit Catholic Church set up from Rome, and a spiritual invasion of the holy city (<i>Rome</i>), then the "<i>animal</i>" that the devil is trying to catch is Traditional Catholicism. <b><u><span style="color: red;">This is another proof that the Catholic religion is the one and only true religion</span></u></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is our hope that this scriptural evidence against the Vatican II Church will strengthen Catholics in their opposition to it. The biblical prophecies which pinpoint our present situation also enable Catholics to have a better understanding of how God views the developments and events of the last 50 or so years.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But most of all, the Apocalypse uncovers the false resistance to this apostasy, even among the so-called traditionalists, who advocate a position in reference to this harlot church which demands that they remain united to its antipopes and the Vatican II sect. Such a false "<i>We resist you . . ." places them right in the very bosom and womb of the harlot. By their own profession, they are still obstinately united to the "mother of the fornications</i>." They still confuse the great harlot with the immaculate Bride of Christ. They still taint a pure and unsullied resistance to the harlot by sticking themselves in the midst of her abominable dominion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 18:4-5</b> - "<b><span style="color: red;">And I heard another voice from heaven, saying: <u>Go out from her, my people</u>; that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues. For her sins have reached unto heaven, and the Lord hath remembered her iniquities</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If they don’t completely break with the great harlot, these people will lose their souls in the eternal fire for blaspheming the Church of Christ the King, which has no fellowship with the works of darkness, no part with the unbeliever, and no concord with the woman of iniquity. Though much of the world has been engulfed by the great harlot, the immaculate Bride of Our Lord still exists in all her purity, though she has been reduced to a remnant and forced underground. This woman, the remnant Catholic Church in the last days, is described in chapter 12 of the Apocalypse after the vision of the woman clothed with the sun, Our Lady of Fatima.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 12:6</b> - "And <b><span style="color: red;"><i>the woman</i> fled into the wilderness</span></b>, where she had a place prepared by God, that there they should feed her a thousand two hundred and sixty days."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Apocalypse 12:14</b> - "And <b><span style="color: red;">there were given to <i>the woman</i> two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the desert</span></b> unto her place, where she is nourished for a time and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">If we have not joined already, we must enter this remnant Catholic Church in the wilderness. We must maintain "<i>the faith once delivered to the saints</i>" (<i>Jude 1:3</i>), and come closer to God by receiving the true sacraments, and practicing devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary and the holy rosary.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apocalypse 12:17 - "And the dragon was angry against the woman: and went to make war with the rest of her seed, who keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Apocalypse 12:12 - "Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus."</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-73938381345447370002013-02-25T23:08:00.000+08:002013-02-26T00:33:04.654+08:00Invalid New Mass<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is taken from the <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/new_mass_vs_traditional_latin_mass.php" target="_blank">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Michael Dimond and Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Why the revolutionary “<i>Mass</i>” instituted by Paul VI in 1969, which is celebrated in the vernacular (<i>e.g. English in the U.S.A., French in France, etc.</i>) in all the dioceses, <b><u><span style="color: red;">is Protestant and invalid and cannot be attended by a true Catholic</span></u></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This comprehensive article explains why the New Mass – “<i>the Mass</i>” celebrated in almost 100% of the churches of the Vatican II sect – <b><u><span style="color: red;">is not valid</span></u></b>. It explains how it is Protestant (<i>i.e. how its features parallel what the 16th century Protestants did to the Catholic Mass</i>), and it covers the prayers and ceremonies that have been deleted, as well as who was responsible for the formation of this revolutionary “<i>Mass</i>,” etc. &nbsp;It also contains many shocking photographs.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">9. <u>The Liturgical Revolution – A New Mass</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;">Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy he could not have done it better</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">THE NEW MASS VS. THE TRADITIONAL MASS</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Traditional Latin Mass, the most holy act of worship of the Roman Rite of the Catholic Church, was codified by Pope St. Pius V in his <i>Bull Quo Primum</i> in 1570.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSIoOJfd8Uk/USn3pp3NLqI/AAAAAAAAO8k/HE3xDfrAWDE/s1600/tridentine+mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NSIoOJfd8Uk/USn3pp3NLqI/AAAAAAAAO8k/HE3xDfrAWDE/s320/tridentine+mass.jpg" width="211" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In his famous <i>Bull Quo Primum</i>, Pope St. Pius V forbade changing the traditional Latin Mass.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius V, Quo Primum Tempore, July 14, 1570: “<span style="color: blue;">Now, therefore, in order that all everywhere may adopt and observe what has been delivered to them by the Holy Roman Church, Mother and Mistress of the other churches, </span><i><span style="color: red;">it shall be unlawful henceforth and forever throughout the Christian world to sing or to read Masses according to any formula other than this Missal published by Us… </span></i><b><span style="color: red;">Accordingly, no one whosoever is permitted to infringe or rashly contravene this notice of Our permission, statute, ordinance, command, direction, grant, indult, declaration, will, decree, and prohibition. Should any venture to do so, let him understand that he will incur the wrath of Almighty God and of the blessed Apostles Peter and Paul</span></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On April 3, 1969, Paul VI replaced the Traditional Latin Mass in the Vatican II churches with his own creation, the New Mass or <i>Novus Ordo</i>. Since that time, the world has seen the following in the Vatican II churches which celebrate the New Mass or Novus Ordo:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world has seen Clown Masses, in which the “<i>priest</i>” dresses as a clown in utter mockery of God. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgC1EeirnJc/USn6mDygvLI/AAAAAAAAO9M/v63D173R52E/s1600/clown+mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="279" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PgC1EeirnJc/USn6mDygvLI/AAAAAAAAO9M/v63D173R52E/s320/clown+mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The world has seen a priest dressed as Dracula; in a football jersey accompanied by cheerleaders; as a cheese-head . . .</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P557epEs3gQ/USn7iFWG3vI/AAAAAAAAO9Y/06HW-pTOdec/s1600/cheesehead.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-P557epEs3gQ/USn7iFWG3vI/AAAAAAAAO9Y/06HW-pTOdec/s320/cheesehead.jpg" width="243" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . driving a Volkswagen down the aisle of church as the people sing hosanna. There have been disco Masses…</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rxJ0Vy9rCEk/USn8P-C08pI/AAAAAAAAO9g/IrC1x0jo4Ng/s1600/GbY50.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-rxJ0Vy9rCEk/USn8P-C08pI/AAAAAAAAO9g/IrC1x0jo4Ng/s320/GbY50.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div>. . . gymnastic performances during the New Mass; balloon Masses; Carnival Masses;<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x1RrC30m9i8/USn9FwKB1cI/AAAAAAAAO-E/xwSR_PHz3GA/s1600/balloon-new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-x1RrC30m9i8/USn9FwKB1cI/AAAAAAAAO-E/xwSR_PHz3GA/s320/balloon-new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . nude Masses, at which scantily clad or nude people take part. The world has seen juggling Masses, at which a juggler performs during the New Mass.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wmzqiIAXtbU/USn-SAnxW_I/AAAAAAAAO-Q/hUXpUHjczAU/s1600/juggler-new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wmzqiIAXtbU/USn-SAnxW_I/AAAAAAAAO-Q/hUXpUHjczAU/s320/juggler-new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world has seen priests celebrate the New Mass with Dorito Chips;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vl9Pi1rkCY/USn-6K3spUI/AAAAAAAAO-Y/7Nj38ELGUfM/s1600/dorito-chips-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-3vl9Pi1rkCY/USn-6K3spUI/AAAAAAAAO-Y/7Nj38ELGUfM/s320/dorito-chips-mass.jpg" width="213" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . with Mountain Dew; on a cardboard box; with cookies; with Chinese tea accompanied by ancestor worship; with a basketball as the priest bounces it all over the altar; with a guitar as the priest plays a solo performance. The world has witnessed the New Mass with a priest almost totally nude as he dances around the altar or with other high-wire abominations . . .&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CxC-7cNbFGU/USoABqxn0aI/AAAAAAAAO_A/tCFtYwhnRt8/s1600/nude-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CxC-7cNbFGU/USoABqxn0aI/AAAAAAAAO_A/tCFtYwhnRt8/s320/nude-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world has seen New Masses with priests dressed in native pagan costumes;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mb191CK71k/USoAXryT5nI/AAAAAAAAO_I/HOrf0vW7NVc/s1600/native-pagan-costumes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4mb191CK71k/USoAXryT5nI/AAAAAAAAO_I/HOrf0vW7NVc/s320/native-pagan-costumes.jpg" width="194" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . with a Jewish Menorah placed on the altar;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WeG4VYCyvzE/USoIrgg7EbI/AAAAAAAAPAM/wetm3WxxEUI/s1600/benedict-xvi-lights-menorah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WeG4VYCyvzE/USoIrgg7EbI/AAAAAAAAPAM/wetm3WxxEUI/s320/benedict-xvi-lights-menorah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . .with a statue of Buddha on the altar; with nuns making offerings to female goddesses; with lectors and gift bearers dressed up as voodoo Satanists. The world has seen the New Mass at which the performer is dressed in a tuxedo and tells jokes. The world has seen rock concerts at the New Mass;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8l_cRtm0-w/USoJyb0-H4I/AAAAAAAAPAU/51-dzxOBm-Y/s1600/new-mass-rock-concert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-S8l_cRtm0-w/USoJyb0-H4I/AAAAAAAAPAU/51-dzxOBm-Y/s320/new-mass-rock-concert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . .guitar and polka New Masses;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WwlyKRtaefs/USoKVELwO3I/AAAAAAAAPAc/qlv2cReVw_0/s1600/guitar-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="292" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WwlyKRtaefs/USoKVELwO3I/AAAAAAAAPAc/qlv2cReVw_0/s320/guitar-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFN8-OhNX_w/USoKz6ngeYI/AAAAAAAAPAk/Ilry9XL7TEw/s1600/polka-new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GFN8-OhNX_w/USoKz6ngeYI/AAAAAAAAPAk/Ilry9XL7TEw/s320/polka-new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . a puppet New Mass; a New Mass where the people gather round the altar dressed as devils;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dPbnXbS8xPg/USoLA1O3e4I/AAAAAAAAPAs/Ixo5zhS4W1A/s1600/haloween-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dPbnXbS8xPg/USoLA1O3e4I/AAAAAAAAPAs/Ixo5zhS4W1A/s320/haloween-mass.jpg" width="210" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . a New Mass where people perform lewd dances to the beat of a steel drum band. The world has seen a New Mass where nuns dressed as pagan vestal virgins make pagan offerings.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pkIkWQJqGIs/USoLXVe1PaI/AAAAAAAAPA0/C1_MJQH76oQ/s1600/new-mass-paganism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pkIkWQJqGIs/USoLXVe1PaI/AAAAAAAAPA0/C1_MJQH76oQ/s320/new-mass-paganism.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FPSSOG1uE0/USoLkjEO12I/AAAAAAAAPA8/LUjw4qZ02fM/s1600/pagan-new-mass-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1FPSSOG1uE0/USoLkjEO12I/AAAAAAAAPA8/LUjw4qZ02fM/s320/pagan-new-mass-2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The world has also seen New Masses incorporating every false religion. There have been Buddhist New masses;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ObyaHtQNRaY/USoMQ9adW4I/AAAAAAAAPBE/U5rBs9FQArc/s1600/buddhist-new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ObyaHtQNRaY/USoMQ9adW4I/AAAAAAAAPBE/U5rBs9FQArc/s320/buddhist-new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . Hindu and Muslim New Masses;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PSEsKda8EpA/USoMoo366eI/AAAAAAAAPBM/vc1umOnFnSs/s1600/hindu-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PSEsKda8EpA/USoMoo366eI/AAAAAAAAPBM/vc1umOnFnSs/s320/hindu-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YQBZfzeBU4c/USoM0bQMfAI/AAAAAAAAPBU/QqnLTYO4EK8/s1600/hindu-new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YQBZfzeBU4c/USoM0bQMfAI/AAAAAAAAPBU/QqnLTYO4EK8/s320/hindu-new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . New Masses where Jews and Unitarians offer candles to false gods. There are churches where the entire congregation says Mass with the priest;</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJj_MX4kMuY/USoNKZA5j9I/AAAAAAAAPBc/plqub-iQZoE/s1600/new-mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="250" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-rJj_MX4kMuY/USoNKZA5j9I/AAAAAAAAPBc/plqub-iQZoE/s320/new-mass.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">. . . where the priest sometimes talks to the people instead of saying Mass.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">What we have catalogued is just a tiny sampling of the kind of thing that occurs in every diocese in the world where the New Mass is celebrated, to one degree or another</span></b>. Our Lord tells us, “<i>By their fruits you shall know them</i>” (<b><i>Mt. 7:16</i></b>). The fruits of the New Mass are incalculably scandalous, sacrilegious and idolatrous. This is because <b><u><span style="color: red;">the New Mass itself, even in its most pure form, is a false, invalid Mass and an abomination</span></u></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cIW7sTnCfTA/USoOICM3qMI/AAAAAAAAPBo/lZCkYgwg6Ck/s1600/john-kerry-new-mass-communion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cIW7sTnCfTA/USoOICM3qMI/AAAAAAAAPBo/lZCkYgwg6Ck/s320/john-kerry-new-mass-communion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Even an organization which defends the New Mass was forced to admit the following about the typical New Mass – i.e., the New Mass normally offered in the churches (<i>without even necessarily considering the aforementioned abominations and sacrileges that are commonplace</i>): “Most of the New Masses we’ve attended . . . are happy-clappy festivities, the music is atrocious, the sermons are vacuous, and they are irreverent . . .”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UkqWX924VQE/USoPoRQYJbI/AAAAAAAAPCQ/W_p49ZaaEt0/s1600/new-mass-idolatry.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UkqWX924VQE/USoPoRQYJbI/AAAAAAAAPCQ/W_p49ZaaEt0/s320/new-mass-idolatry.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the New Mass came out in 1969, Cardinals Ottaviani, Bacci, and some other theologians wrote to Paul VI about it. Keep in mind that what they said about the New Mass concerns the Latin Version, the so-called “<i>most pure</i>” version of the New Mass. Their study is popularly known as <i>The Ottaviani Intervention.</i> It states:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;">The Novus Ordo [<i>the New Order of Mass</i>] represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session 22 of the Council of Trent</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">They could clearly see that the Latin version of the New Mass was a striking departure from the teaching of the Council of Trent. Of the twelve offertory prayers in the Traditional Mass, only two are retained in the New Mass. The deleted offertory prayers are the same ones that the Protestant heretics Martin Luther and Thomas Cranmer eliminated. The New Mass was promulgated by Paul VI with the help of six Protestant Ministers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzTDz6EJN-U/USoQcByQ5-I/AAAAAAAAPCY/O_JptW6hcc0/s1600/protestant-ministers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qzTDz6EJN-U/USoQcByQ5-I/AAAAAAAAPCY/O_JptW6hcc0/s640/protestant-ministers.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The six Protestant Ministers who helped design the New Mass were: Drs. George, Jasper, Shepherd, Kunneth, Smith and Thurian.</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Paul VI even admitted to his good friend Jean Guitton that his intention in changing the Mass <b><u><span style="color: red;">was to make it Protestant</span></u></b>.&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Jean Guitton (<i>an intimate friend of Paul VI</i>) wrote: “<span style="color: blue;">The intention of Pope Paul VI with regard to what is commonly called the [<i>New</i>] Mass, was to reform the Catholic liturgy in such a way that it should almost coincide with the Protestant liturgy. There was with Pope Paul VI an ecumenical intention to remove, or, at least to correct, or, at least to relax, what was too Catholic in the traditional sense in the Mass and, I repeat, to get the Catholic Mass closer to the Calvinist Mass</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">Paul VI removed what was too Catholic in the Mass in order to make the Mass a Protestant&nbsp;</span><span style="text-align: left;">service.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A study of the propers and orations of the Traditional Mass versus the New Mass reveals a massacre of the Traditional Faith. The traditional Missal contains 1182 orations. About 760 of those were dropped entirely from the New Mass. Of the approximately 36% which remained, the revisers altered over half of them before introducing them into the new Missal. Thus, <u><b><span style="color: red;">only some 17% of the orations from the Traditional Mass made it untouched into the New Mass</span></b></u>. What’s also striking is the content of the revisions that were made to the orations. The Traditional Orations which described the following concepts were specifically abolished from the New Missal: the depravity of sin; the snares of wickedness; the grave offense of sin; the way to perdition; terror in the face of God’s fury; God’s indignation; the blows of His wrath; the burden of evil; temptations; wicked thoughts; dangers to the soul; enemies of soul and body. Also eliminated were orations which described: the hour of death; the loss of heaven; everlasting death; eternal punishment; the pains of Hell and its fire. Special emphasis was made to abolish from the New Mass the orations which described detachment from the world; prayers for the departed; the true Faith and the existence of heresy; the references to the Church militant, the merits of the saints, miracles and Hell.&nbsp;<span style="text-align: left;">One can see the results of this massacre of the Traditional&nbsp;</span><span style="text-align: left;">Faith from the propers of the New Mass.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4bXHE5B5d8/USsKR-IQoAI/AAAAAAAAPDE/ykiU4OChckM/s1600/invalid+mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-I4bXHE5B5d8/USsKR-IQoAI/AAAAAAAAPDE/ykiU4OChckM/s320/invalid+mass.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The New Mass is fraught with sacrileges, profanations and the most ridiculous abominations imaginable because it reflects a false religion which has abandoned the traditional Catholic Faith.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KFirrKaBZLk/USsK5ttaiTI/AAAAAAAAPDM/nJZfDSX3Gys/s1600/invalid+mass2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KFirrKaBZLk/USsK5ttaiTI/AAAAAAAAPDM/nJZfDSX3Gys/s320/invalid+mass2.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The false religion the New Mass reflects is one reason why it is completely empty; it is why the fruits are utterly desolate, barren and almost unspeakably bad. The religion practiced at the churches where the New Mass is said, simply put, is a complete sacrilege and an empty celebration of man.</div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84Xv_NmwbDk/USsMYU7NjHI/AAAAAAAAPDg/2bRvEvCdZ1s/s1600/invalid+new+mass3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-84Xv_NmwbDk/USsMYU7NjHI/AAAAAAAAPDg/2bRvEvCdZ1s/s320/invalid+new+mass3.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Even Dietrich von Hildebrand, a supporter of the Vatican II religion, said about the New Mass: &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;">Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis’ <i>The Screwtape Letters</i> had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy he could not have done it better</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uOSmgtTYCMg/USsNCnVZbuI/AAAAAAAAPDo/FH4X3WQ1RCg/s1600/invalid+new+mass+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uOSmgtTYCMg/USsNCnVZbuI/AAAAAAAAPDo/FH4X3WQ1RCg/s320/invalid+new+mass+4.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">With the exception of a single genuflection by the celebrant after the consecration, virtually every sign of respect for the Body and Blood of Christ which characterized the Traditional Mass has either been abolished or made optional for the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9pgroA8YNZg/USsNwiu76rI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/Qrtjdnids7o/s1600/invalid+new+mass+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9pgroA8YNZg/USsNwiu76rI/AAAAAAAAPEQ/Qrtjdnids7o/s320/invalid+new+mass+5.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fuvgedXt9Wg/USsOAvnDWcI/AAAAAAAAPEY/NfbLTXRwZAc/s1600/invalid+new+mass+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fuvgedXt9Wg/USsOAvnDWcI/AAAAAAAAPEY/NfbLTXRwZAc/s320/invalid+new+mass+6.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">It’s no longer obligatory for the sacred vessels to be gilded if they are not made of precious metals. Sacred vessels, which only the anointed hands of a priest could touch, are now handled by all.&nbsp;</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3mnzfzmFiKg/USsPuQFMxuI/AAAAAAAAPEk/DzBL6nkJHgg/s1600/invalid+mass.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3mnzfzmFiKg/USsPuQFMxuI/AAAAAAAAPEk/DzBL6nkJHgg/s320/invalid+mass.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The priest frequently shakes hands before distributing the host. The General Instruction for the New Mass also declares that altars no longer need to be of natural stone; that an altar stone containing the relics of martyrs is no longer required; that only one cloth is required on the altar; that it is not necessary to have a crucifix or even candles upon the altar.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Not even one of the mandatory requirements developed over 2,000 years to ensure that the altar is of fitting dignity has been retained in the New Mass.</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vj-9WWKVpTE/USsQ6rEWpSI/AAAAAAAAPFU/5aISVVKgs4g/s1600/invalid+mass2.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vj-9WWKVpTE/USsQ6rEWpSI/AAAAAAAAPFU/5aISVVKgs4g/s1600/invalid+mass2.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When the Protestants split from the Catholic Church in England in the 16th century, they changed the Mass to reflect their heretical beliefs. The altars were replaced by tables. Latin was replaced by English. Statues and icons were removed from the churches. The Last Gospel and the Confiteor were abolished. “<i>Communion</i>” was distributed in the hand. Mass was said out loud and facing the Congregation. Traditional music was discarded and replaced with new music. Three-fourths of the priests in England went along with the New Service.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is also precisely what happened in 1969, when Paul VI promulgated the New Mass, the <i>Novus Ordo Missae</i>. The similarities between the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book and the New Mass are striking. One expert noted:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">The extent to which the Novus Ordo Mass departs from the theology of the Council of Trent can best be gauged by comparing the prayers which the Consilium removed from the liturgy to those removed by the heretic Thomas Cranmer</span>. <b style="color: red;">The coincidence is not simply striking – it is horrifying. </b><span style="color: blue;">It cannot, in fact, be a coincidence</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In order to emphasize their heretical belief that the Mass is not a sacrifice, but just a meal, the Protestants removed the altar and put a table in its place. In Protestant England, for example, “<span style="color: blue;">On November 23, 1550 the Privy Council ordered all altars in England destroyed and replaced by communion tables</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxaQbqNKCYE/USsSV5cR9dI/AAAAAAAAPFg/qJwFpGn1D94/s1600/invalid+mass3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zxaQbqNKCYE/USsSV5cR9dI/AAAAAAAAPFg/qJwFpGn1D94/s320/invalid+mass3.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">A Vatican II church with Protestant-like table for its new<br />Protestant "Mass".</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The chief Protestant heretics declared: “<b><span style="color: red;">The form of a table</span></b> shall more move the simple from the superstitious opinions of the popish Mass unto the right use of the Lord’s Supper. For the use of an altar is to make sacrifice upon it: the use of a table is to serve men to eat upon.” The Welsh Catholic martyr, Richard Gwyn, declared in protest against this change: “<b><span style="color: red;">In place of an altar there is a miserable table</span></b>, in place of Christ there is bread.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And St. Robert Bellarmine noted: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">when we enter the temples of the heretics, where there is nothing except a chair for preaching and a table</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> for making a meal, we feel ourselves to be entering a profane hall and not the house of God</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EruYjVkUVsQ/USsUZ2N9o0I/AAAAAAAAPGs/3QhMpF_0xNE/s1600/invalid+mass+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="262" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EruYjVkUVsQ/USsUZ2N9o0I/AAAAAAAAPGs/3QhMpF_0xNE/s320/invalid+mass+4.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just like the new services of the Protestant revolutionaries, the New Mass is celebrated on a table. </div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jVLKDnnwzfQ/USsVFyEPqSI/AAAAAAAAPG0/s8vwqKFdw0Y/s1600/invalid+mass+5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jVLKDnnwzfQ/USsVFyEPqSI/AAAAAAAAPG0/s8vwqKFdw0Y/s320/invalid+mass+5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1549 Anglican Prayer Book was also called “<span style="color: blue;">The Supper of the Lord, and the holy Communion, commonly called the Mass</span>.” This title emphasized the Protestant belief that the Mass is just a meal, a supper – and not a sacrifice. When Paul VI promulgated the General Instruction for the New Mass, it was entitled exactly the same way. Its title was: “<span style="color: blue;">The Lord’s Supper or Mass</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es3RNci3HJA/UStAie7vJ4I/AAAAAAAAPHg/jzoYk6qXdjc/s1600/invalid+mass+6.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Es3RNci3HJA/UStAie7vJ4I/AAAAAAAAPHg/jzoYk6qXdjc/s320/invalid+mass+6.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />The 1549 Anglican Prayer Book removed from the Mass the psalm <i><span style="color: blue;">Give Judgment for me, O God</span></i>, because of its reference to the altar of God. This psalm was also suppressed in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1549 Anglican Prayer Book removed from the Mass the prayer which begins <i><span style="color: blue;">Take away from us our sins</span></i>, because it evokes sacrifice. This was also suppressed in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prayer which begins <i><span style="color: blue;">We beseech Thee, O Lord</span></i>, refers to relics in the altar stone. This prayer has been suppressed in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book the Introit, Kyrie, Gloria, Collect, Epistle, Gospel and Creed were all retained. They have all been retained in the New Mass.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The equivalent to the Offertory Prayers: <i><span style="color: blue;">Accept, O holy Father…O God, Who has established the nature of man . . . We offer unto Thee, O Lord . . . In a humble spirit . . . Come, Thou Sanctifier, almighty . . . and Accept, most holy Trinity</span></i>, were all suppressed in the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book. &nbsp;They have all been suppressed in the New Mass, except for two excerpts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book, the <i><span style="color: blue;">Lift up your hearts</span></i> dialogue, <i><span style="color: blue;">Preface</span></i> and <i><span style="color: blue;">Sanctus</span></i> were all retained. They have been retained in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MZhRd2BHISs/UStBRWnkbVI/AAAAAAAAPHo/_I8u_LRb2aE/s1600/invalid+mass+7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MZhRd2BHISs/UStBRWnkbVI/AAAAAAAAPHo/_I8u_LRb2aE/s320/invalid+mass+7.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Roman Canon was abolished by the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book. It has been retained only as an option in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf0JNIGatgA/UStCT-Om8QI/AAAAAAAAPH0/k9e39XqC2us/s1600/thomas+cranmer+and+martin+luther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kf0JNIGatgA/UStCT-Om8QI/AAAAAAAAPH0/k9e39XqC2us/s320/thomas+cranmer+and+martin+luther.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">Arch-heretics of the Protestant revolution:<br />Thomas Cranmer (left) and Martin Luther (right).</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thomas Cranmer (<i>the author of the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book</i>) and Martin Luther both abolished the prayer <i><span style="color: blue;">Deliver us, O Lord</span></i> – probably because it mentions the intercession of Our Lady and the saints. Only a modified version of this prayer has been retained in the New Mass, with no invocation of saints. It should also be noted that the Offertory prayer in the New Mass which begins <i><span style="color: blue;">Blessed are you, Lord, God of all Creation</span></i> is taken from a Jewish Table Prayer.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />In fact, the Novus Ordo Mass also removed the traditional Good Friday prayer for the conversion of the Jews. This prayer has been replaced with a prayer, not that the Jews convert, but that they “<i>grow</i>” in faithfulness to His covenant! Thus, there is an expression of apostasy right in the official Good Friday prayer of the New Mass. It’s a promotion of Judaism and the heresy that the Old Covenant is still valid.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Two different Good Friday prayers for the Jews for two different religions:</span></b><br /><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On Good Friday, the Novus Ordo religion prays: “<i><span style="color: blue;">for the Jewish people, the first to hear the word of God, </span><b><span style="color: red;">that they may continue to grow in the love of his name and in faithfulness to His covenant</span></b></i>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the Catholic Church prays on Good Friday: “<span style="color: blue;">for the perfidious Jews: that Our Lord and God may lift the covering off their hearts, so that they may acknowledge Jesus Christ Our Lord</span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the 1549 Anglican Prayer Book, the equivalent of the prayer which begins, <span style="color: blue;"><i>May the Mingling and Consecration of the Body and Blood</i></span>, was abolished. It’s very interesting that only a modified version of this prayer has been kept in the New Mass with the important word “<i>consecration</i>” removed.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1549 Anglican Prayer Book abandoned the discipline of the Roman Rite in distributing Communion under one kind and gave Communion under both kinds. At the New Mass Communion under both kinds is distributed in many places in the world.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PmIMesIDy1E/UStFG2GshhI/AAAAAAAAPIg/RSEO3Rsnm88/s1600/invalid+mass+9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-PmIMesIDy1E/UStFG2GshhI/AAAAAAAAPIg/RSEO3Rsnm88/s320/invalid+mass+9.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 1552 version of the Anglican Prayer Book instructed that Communion was to be given in the hand to signify that the bread was ordinary bread and that the priest did not differ in essence from a layman.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M7lKq0GYrrY/UStFVmJJs2I/AAAAAAAAPIo/a2c9yNlo7Fk/s1600/invalid+mass+10.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="224" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-M7lKq0GYrrY/UStFVmJJs2I/AAAAAAAAPIo/a2c9yNlo7Fk/s1600/invalid+mass+10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The New Mass implements Communion in the hand in almost every place in the world, and it even goes farther than Cranmer by allowing communicants to stand and receive from a lay minister.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a_HzFNGFk5I/UStFpxsED8I/AAAAAAAAPIw/NaGrFkFtptE/s1600/imvalid+mass+11.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-a_HzFNGFk5I/UStFpxsED8I/AAAAAAAAPIw/NaGrFkFtptE/s1600/imvalid+mass+11.jpg" width="269" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">The prayers in the Traditional Mass which begin with: <i><span style="color: blue;">What has passed our lips as food</span></i> and <i><span style="color: blue;">May Thy Body, O Lord, which I have eaten</span></i> both make explicit reference to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. &nbsp;Both have been suppressed in the New Mass.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prayer which begins <i><span style="color: blue;">May the tribute of my worship be pleasing to thee, most holy Trinity</span></i>, was the least acceptable prayer after Communion to all the Protestants, because of its reference to propitiatory sacrifice. Martin Luther, and Cranmer in his Anglican Prayer Book, suppressed it. Following their lead, it was suppressed in the New Mass.</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Now to the Last Gospel. If the Last Gospel, which closes the Traditional Mass, had been included in the New Mass, then the New Mass would have clashed with the pattern of Protestant services, which conclude with a blessing. So it was not included in the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The prayers after the Traditional Mass, the Leonine Prayers, including the <i><span style="color: red;">Hail Mary</span></i>; the <i><span style="color: red;">Hail Holy Queen</span></i>; the <i><span style="color: red;">O God our refuge</span></i>; the prayer to St. Michael; and the appeal to the Sacred Heart, formed, in practice, an important part of the liturgy. Five prayers less compatible with Protestantism could hardly be imagined. They have all been suppressed in the New Mass.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Considering all of this, even Michael Davies agreed: “<b><span style="color: red;">It is beyond dispute that . . . the Roman Rite has been destroyed</span></b>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides the fact that the New Mass is a Protestant service, there is also the fact that the Novus Ordo churches bear a striking and undeniable resemblance to Freemasonic lodges. Look at the pictures. Here is a Freemasonic lodge:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eRi8zNmcNLU/UStLS8KMUQI/AAAAAAAAPK4/Z0dsy0vaK8E/s1600/freemasonic_lodge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eRi8zNmcNLU/UStLS8KMUQI/AAAAAAAAPK4/Z0dsy0vaK8E/s320/freemasonic_lodge.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And here is a Novus Ordo church:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lw_HggNlRcs/UStQuUvPztI/AAAAAAAAPLk/HKIw1SAj5W4/s1600/Novus+Ordo+church.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lw_HggNlRcs/UStQuUvPztI/AAAAAAAAPLk/HKIw1SAj5W4/s1600/Novus+Ordo+church.jpg" width="288" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The two are almost indistinguishable; the focus of both is on man, with the Presider’s Chair in the middle and a circular emphasis. Perhaps this is because the primary architect of Paul VI’s New Mass was Cardinal Annibale Bugnini, who was a Freemason. &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZvViFlZej0/UStRBVT5eCI/AAAAAAAAPLs/umgNIzCbBZY/s1600/Annibale+Bugnini.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-fZvViFlZej0/UStRBVT5eCI/AAAAAAAAPLs/umgNIzCbBZY/s320/Annibale+Bugnini.jpg" width="256" /></a></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Annibale Bugnini, primary architect of the New Mass and a Freemason “<i>Cardinal</i>” Annibale Bugnini was Chairman of the Consilium which drafted Paul VI’s New Mass. Bugnini was initiated into the Masonic Lodge on April 23, 1963, according to the Masonic Register in 1976.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to all of these problems with the New Mass, there is one that looms even larger. The biggest problem with the New Mass is that it is not valid. &nbsp;Jesus Christ is not present in the New Mass because the New Mass has altered the very words of consecration.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: blue;">PROOF THAT THE NEW MASS IS NOT VALID – THE WORDS OF CONSECRATION HAVE BEEN CHANGED</span></u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A sacrament is said to be valid if it takes place. The Sacrament of the Eucharist is valid if the bread and wine become the actual Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. In order for any sacrament to be valid, matter, form, minister and intention must be present.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, 1439: <span style="color: blue;">"All these sacraments are made up of three elements: namely, things as the </span><span style="color: red;"><b><u>matter</u></b></span><span style="color: blue;">, words as the </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">form</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;">, and the person of the </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">minister</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;"> who confers the sacrament with the </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">intention</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;"> of doing what the Church does. </span><b><span style="color: red;">If any of these is lacking, the sacrament is not effected</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The problem with the validity of the New Mass comes with the form, those <u><b><span style="color: red;">words</span></b></u> necessary to confect the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The form necessary to confect the Eucharist in the Roman Rite was declared by Pope Eugene IV at the Council of Florence.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, Cantate Domino, 1441: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . the holy Roman Church, relying on the teaching and authority of the apostles Peter and Paul . . . uses this form of words in the consecration of the Lord's Body: </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">FOR THIS IS MY BODY</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;">. And of His blood: </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS</span></i></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In Pope St. Pius V’s Decree <i>De Defectibus</i>, we find the same words repeated:<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius V, <i>De Defectibus</i>, chapter 5, Part 1: "<b><span style="color: red;">The words of Consecration</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, which are the </span><b><span style="color: red;">FORM</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of this Sacrament, are these: </span><b><span style="color: red;"><i>FOR THIS IS MY BODY</i></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And: </span><b><span style="color: red;"><i>FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, <u>WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS</u></i></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. Now if one were to remove, or change anything in the FORM of the consecration of the Body and Blood, and in that very change of words the [</span><i style="color: blue;">new</i><span style="color: blue;">] wording would fail to mean the same thing, he would not consecrate the sacrament</span>."<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This teaching appeared in the front of every Roman Altar Missal from 1570 to 1962. We can see that the same words mentioned by the Council of Florence are declared to be necessary by Pope St. Pius V. &nbsp;This is why all of these words of consecration are bolded in Traditional Roman Altar Missals, and why the Roman Missal instructs priests to hold the chalice until the completion of all these words. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Pope St. Pius V’s teaching states that if the words of consecration are changed so that the meaning is altered, the priest does not confect the Sacrament</span></b>. In the New Mass the words of consecration have been drastically changed, and the meaning has been altered.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">First, the original Latin version of the New Mass has removed the words <i>mysterium fidei</i> – “<i>the mystery of Faith</i>” – from the words of consecration. This causes a grave doubt, because “<i>mysterium fidei</i>” is part of the form in the Roman Rite. Though the words “<i>mysterium fidei</i>” are not part of some of the Eastern Rite formulas of consecration, they have been declared to be part of the Roman Rite. They are also found in some Eastern Rites. Pope Innocent III and the Canon of the Mass also tell us that the words “<i>mysterium fidei</i>” were given by Jesus Christ Himself.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Innocent III, <i>Cum Marthae</i> circa, Nov. 29, 1202, in response to a question about the form of the Eucharist and the inclusion of ‘<i>mysterium fide</i>i’: "<span style="color: blue;">You have asked (</span><i style="color: blue;">indeed</i><span style="color: blue;">) who has added to the form of words which Christ Himself expressed when He changed the bread and wine into the Body and Blood, that in the Canon of the Mass which the general Church uses, which none of the Evangelists is read to have expressed . . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">In the Canon of the Mass that expression, ‘<i>mysterium fidei</i>,’ is found interposed among His words . . . Surely we find many such things omitted from the words as well as from the deeds of the Lord by the Evangelists</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, which the Apostles are read to have supplied by word or to have expressed by deed . . . Therefore, </span><b><span style="color: red;">we believe that the form of words, as they are found in the Canon, the Apostles received from Christ</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and their successors from them</span>."<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The words “<i>the mystery of faith</i>” in the consecration are a clear reference to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. These words were also removed by the heretic Thomas Cranmer in his 1549 Anglican Prayer book because of their clear reference to the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. When words are removed from a rite because the meaning they express contradicts the intended meaning of the rite, a doubt is caused. More could be said on this matter, but we must now move to the crushing blow to the validity of the New Mass.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In almost all vernacular translations of the New Mass in the world, the words of consecration read as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: blue;">FORM OF CONSECRATION IN THE NEW MASS</span></u></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">For this is my body. For this is the chalice of my blood, of the new and eternal testament. It shall be shed for you and </span><b><span style="color: red;">FOR <u>ALL</u> SO THAT SINS MAY BE FORGIVEN</span></b>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The words “<i><b><span style="color: red;">for you and for many unto the remission of sins</span></b></i>” have been changed to for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven. The word “<i>many</i>” has been removed and replaced with the word “<i>all</i>.” This huge change invalidates all the New Masses. First, the word <i><span style="color: red;">many</span></i> was used by Jesus to institute the sacrament of the Eucharist, as we see in <b><i>Matthew 26:28</i></b>: <i>“For this is my blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for <b><span style="color: red;">many</span></b> unto remission of sins</i>.” The words used by Our Lord, “<i>for many unto remission of sins</i>,” represent the efficacy of the blood that Jesus shed. Jesus’s blood is effective for the salvation of many, not all men. In the process of explaining this, The <i>Catechism of the Council of Trent</i> specifically states that Our Lord did not mean “<i>all</i>” and therefore didn’t say it!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Catechism of the Council of Trent</i>, On the Form of the Eucharist, p. 227: "<span style="color: blue;">The additional words </span><i style="color: blue;">for you and for many</i><span style="color: blue;">, are taken, some from Matthew, some from Luke, but were joined together by the Catholic Church under the guidance of the Spirit of God. </span><b><span style="color: red;">They serve to declare the fruit and advantage of His Passion</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. For if we look to its value, we must confess that the Redeemer shed His Blood for the salvation of all; but if we look to the fruit which mankind has received from it, </span><b><span style="color: red;">we shall easily find that it pertains not unto all, but to many</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of the human race. When therefore (</span><i style="color: blue;">our Lord</i><span style="color: blue;">) said: For you, He meant either those who were present, or those chosen from among the Jewish people, such as were, with the exception of Judas, the disciples with whom He was speaking. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>When He added, </b><i>And for many</i></span><b><span style="color: red;">, He wished to be understood to mean the remainder of the elect</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> from among the Jews and Gentiles. </span><span style="color: red;"><u><b>WITH REASON, THEREFORE, WERE THE WORDS FOR ALL NOT USED</b></u></span><span style="color: blue;">, as in this place the fruits of the Passion are alone spoken of, and to the elect only did His Passion bring the fruit of salvation</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As we can see, according to <i>The Catechism of the Council of Trent</i> the words “<i>for all</i>” were specifically not used by Our Lord because they would give a false meaning.<br /><br />St. Alphonsus De Liguori, <i>Treatise on the Holy Eucharist</i>: "<span style="color: blue;">The words </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">for you and for many</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;"> are used to distinguish the virtue of the Blood of Christ from its fruits: for the Blood of Our Savior is of sufficient value to save all men but its fruits are applied only to a certain number </span><span style="color: red;"><u><b>and not to all</b></u></span><span style="color: blue;">, and this is their own fault . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The use of “<i>all</i>” changes the meaning of the form of consecration. No one, not even a pope, can change the words that Jesus Christ specifically instituted for a sacrament of the Church.<br /><br />Pope Pius XII, <i>Sacramentum Ordinis</i> (# 1), Nov. 30, 1947: "<span style="color: blue;">. . . the Church has no power over the '<i>substance of the sacraments</i>,' that is, over those things which, with the sources of divine revelation as witnesses, Christ the Lord Himself decreed to be preserved in a sacramental sign . . .</span>"<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since “<i>all</i>” doesn’t mean the same thing as “<i>many</i>,” the sacrament is not confected in the New Mass.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius V, De Defectibus, chapter 5, Part 1: "<span style="color: blue;">The words of Consecration, which are the </span><b><span style="color: red;">FORM</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of this Sacrament, are these:</span><b><span style="color: red;"> FOR THIS IS MY BODY</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And: </span><b><span style="color: red;">FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. </span><span style="color: red;">Now if one were to remove, or change anything in the <b>FORM</b> of the consecration of the Body and Blood, and in that very change of words the [<i>new</i>] wording would fail to mean the same thing, he would not consecrate the sacrament</span>."<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><u>ANOTHER ANGLE TO THIS ISSUE ABSOLUTELY PROVES THAT THE NEW MASS IS INVALID</u></span></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is another angle to this issue that we must now examine. In his famous Bull, <i>Apostolicae Curae</i> in 1896, Pope Leo XIII teaches:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Pope Leo XIII, </span><i style="color: blue;">Apostolicae Curae</i><span style="color: blue;">, Sept. 13, 1896: “All know that </span><b><span style="color: red;">the sacraments of the New Law</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, as sensible and efficient signs of invisible grace, </span><b><span style="color: red;">must both signify the grace which they effect and effect the grace which they signify</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.”&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span>If it does not signify the grace which it effects and effect the grace which it signifies it is not a sacrament – period. So, what is the grace effected by the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist?<br /><br />Pope Eugene IV, Council of Florence, “<i>Exultate Deo</i>,” <b><span style="color: red;">On the Eucharist</span></b>, 1439: “<span style="color: blue;">Finally, </span><span style="color: red;"><b>this is a fitting way to signify <u>the effect of this sacrament, that is, the union of the Christian people with Christ</u></b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. Thomas Aquinas, <i>Summa Theologica</i>, Pt. III, Q. 73, A. 3: “<span style="color: blue;">Now it was stated above that<b> </b></span><span style="color: red;"><u><b>the reality of the sacrament [<i>of the Eucharist</i>] is the unity of the mystical body</b></u></span><span style="color: blue;">, without which there is no salvation . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As the Council of Florence, St. Thomas Aquinas, and many other theologians teach, the grace effected by the Eucharist is the union of the faithful with Christ. St. Thomas calls this grace “<i>the unity of the Mystical Body</i>.” The <i><span style="color: blue;">grace effected</span></i> by the Eucharist (<b><span style="color: red;">the union of the faithful with Christ or the unity of the Mystical Body</span></b>) must be carefully distinguished from the Eucharist itself: the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ.<br />&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Since <span style="color: blue;"><i>the union of the faithful with Christ is the grace effected by the Sacrament of the Eucharist</i></span> – or what is also called the reality of the Sacrament or the grace proper to the Sacrament of the Eucharist – this grace must be signified in the form of the consecration for it to be valid, as Pope Leo XIII teaches. Okay, so we must look at the traditional form of consecration and find where this grace – the union of the faithful with Christ – is signified.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The traditional form of consecration, as declared by Pope Eugene IV at the <i>Council of Florence</i> and Pope St. Pius V in<i> De Defectibus</i>, is as follows:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“FOR THIS IS MY BODY. FOR THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT: THE MYSTERY OF FAITH, WHICH SHALL BE SHED FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note again: we are looking for that part of the form which signifies that the person who receives this sacrament worthily becomes united or more strongly united with Jesus Christ and His Mystical Body.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do the words “<b><i><span style="color: red;">OF THE NEW AND ETERNAL TESTAMENT</span></i></b>” signify the union of the faithful with Christ/the Mystical Body? No. These words do not signify the Mystical Body, but rather they contrast the temporary and prefiguring sacrifices of the Old Law with the eternal and propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do the words “<b><i><span style="color: red;">THE MYSTERY OF FAITH</span></i></b>” signify the union of the faithful with Christ/the Mystical Body? No. These words signify the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, as Innocent III teaches; they do not signify the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Do the words “<b><i><span style="color: red;">WHICH SHALL BE SHED</span></i></b>” signify the union of the faithful with Christ/the Mystical Body? No. These words denote true sacrifice.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only words left in the form of consecration are: “<b><i><span style="color: red;"><u>FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS</u></span></i></b>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The <b><i><span style="color: red;">remission of sins</span></i></b> is necessary for <b><span style="color: red;">incorporation into the Mystical Body</span></b>, and remission of sins is an indispensable component of true justification, <u><span style="color: red;">by which one is fruitfully united to Jesus Christ</span></u>. The words “<i><b><span style="color: red;">for you and for many</span></b></i>” denote <b><span style="color: red;">the members</span></b> of the Mystical Body who have received such remission. <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The words “<b><i><span style="color: red;"><u>FOR YOU AND FOR MANY UNTO THE REMISSION OF SINS</u></span></i></b>” are the words in the form of Consecration which signify the union of the faithful with Christ/the union of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the grace proper to the Sacrament of the Eucharist.<br /><br />Now, if we look to the Novus Ordo form of consecration, do we find the Mystical Body/the union of the faithful with Christ (<i>the grace proper to the Sacrament of the Eucharist</i>) signified? Here is the form of consecration in the New Mass or Novus Ordo:<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">New Mass form: “<span style="color: blue;">This is my body. This is the cup of my blood, of the new and eternal testament. It shall be shed </span><u><span style="color: red;">for you and for all</span></u><span style="color: blue;"> so that sins may be forgiven</span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Is the union of the Mystical Body of Jesus Christ signified by the words “<i>for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven</i>”? No. Are all men part of the Mystical Body? No. Are all men part of the faithful united with Christ? No. We can see very clearly that the New Mass or Novus Ordo most certainly <b><u><span style="color: red;">does not</span></u></b> signify the union of the Mystical Body (<i>the grace proper to the Sacrament of the Eucharist</i>), and therefore it is not a valid sacrament! <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">One does not have to say anything more . . . <b><u><span style="color: red;">the New Mass is not valid!</span></u></b> <br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Apostolicae Curae</i>, 1896: “<span style="color: blue;">All know that </span><u><span style="color: red;">the Sacraments of the New Law</span></u><span style="color: blue;">, as sensible and efficient signs of invisible grace, </span><u><span style="color: red;">must both signify the grace which they effect and effect the grace which they signify</span></u>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Apostolicae Curae</i>, 1896: “<span style="color: blue;">That form cannot be considered apt or sufficient for a Sacrament which omits that which it must essentially signify</span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, “Exultate Deo,” 1438: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . this is a fitting way to signify the effect of this sacrament, that is, the union of the Christian people with Christ</span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To further prove the point, we should note that in all the formulas of consecration in the liturgical rites of the Catholic Church, whether it is the Armenian Liturgy, the Coptic Liturgy, the Ethiopic Liturgy, the Syrian Liturgy, the Chaldean Liturgy, etc. the union of the faithful with Christ/the Mystical Body is signified in the form of consecration. No liturgy that has ever been approved by the Church fails to signify the union of the faithful with Christ.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">Here are the portions of the forms of consecration of the Wine used in Eastern Rites which signify what the Traditional Mass does and what the New Mass doesn’t: the union and members of the Church:</span></b><br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE ARMENIAN LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many for the expiation and forgiveness of sins</i>.</span>”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified by the words “<i><span style="color: red;">for you and for m</span></i><i><span style="color: red;">any for the expiation and forgiveness of sins</span></i>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE BYZANTINE LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE CHALDEAN LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE COPTIC LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many unto the forgiveness of sins</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE ETHIOPIC LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many for the forgiveness of sin</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE LITURGY OF MALABAR: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . shed <i>for you and for many for the remission of sins</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE MARONITE LITURGY: (this form is identical to that which was always used in the Roman Rite).<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">THE SYRIAN LITURGY: “<span style="color: blue;">This is my Blood, of the New Covenant, which shall be poured out and offered <i>for the forgiveness of the sins and eternal life of you and of many</i></span>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Note that the union and members of the Mystical Body are signified by the words “<i><span style="color: blue;">for the forgiveness of the sins and eternal life of you and of many</span></i>.”<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The formula of consecration in all Catholic liturgies signifies the union of the faithful with Christ/the Mystical Body of Christ, as we can see. The New Mass, which says, “<i>for you and for all so that sins may be forgiven</i>,” does not signify the Mystical Body, since all do not belong to the Mystical &nbsp;Body. Thus, the New Mass does not signify the grace which the Eucharist effects. It is not valid.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: red;">Therefore, a Catholic cannot attend the New “Mass” under pain of mortal sin</span></u></b>. Those who persist in doing so are committing idolatry (<i>worshipping a piece of bread</i>). Jesus Christ is not present there. The host is merely a piece of bread, not Our Lord’s Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity. The Church has always taught that to approach a doubtful sacrament (<i>which employs doubtful matter or form</i>) is mortally sinful. In fact, Pope Innocent XI, <i>Decree of the Holy Office</i>, March 4, 1679, even condemns the idea that Catholics can receive "<i>probable</i>" sacraments. And the New Mass is not merely doubtful, it is invalid, since it does not signify the grace it is supposed to effect. It is actually worse than a Protestant service; it is an abomination, which falsifies the words of Jesus Christ and the Catholic Faith.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: justify;">Note: At the time we are writing this there is some talk that the Vatican, in order to deceive traditionalists back into the Counter Church and the false New Mass, is planning to correct the “<i>for all</i>” error in the form of consecration. The fact that the Vatican is going to do this proves that “<i>for all</i>” gives, as we’ve said, a false signification. Even if they do this, a Catholic would still have to avoid all New Masses under pain of mortal sin because the New Mass itself is a non-Catholic service, it would still be missing the words “<i>mysterium fidei</i>” in the consecration, and most of the “<i>priests</i>” celebrating it are invalid anyway.</div></div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-30860950556766075992013-02-24T10:43:00.000+08:002013-02-24T10:43:11.216+08:00There is only One Baptism, Not Three<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WraCfB6Dhmw/USl6b-gIbHI/AAAAAAAAO78/0O0CMS8FwN8/s1600/One+Baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WraCfB6Dhmw/USl6b-gIbHI/AAAAAAAAO78/0O0CMS8FwN8/s400/One+Baptism.jpg" width="335" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Twelfth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">12. <u>There is only One Baptism, Not Three</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is defined Catholic dogma that there is only one baptism. This is why the dogmatic Nicene Creed, historically professed every Sunday in the Roman Rite, reads: “<i><span style="color: red;"><b>I confess one baptism for the remission of sins</b></span></i>.” And this dogma that there is one baptism for the remission of sins comes from Our Lord and the Apostles. It is affirmed by St. Paul in Ephesians 4:5: “<b><i><span style="color: red;">One Lord, one faith, one baptism</span></i></b>.” Could it be possible that there is more than one baptism for the remission of sins when Catholics have prayed and believed for 2000 years that there is only one? <b><span style="color: red;">No</span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI,<i> Quas Primas</i> (# 12), Dec. 11, 1925: “<span style="color: blue;">The perfect harmony of the Eastern liturgies with our own in this continual praise of Christ the King shows once more the truth of the axiom: </span><i style="color: blue;">Legem credendi lex statuit supplicandi</i><span style="color: blue;">. </span><b><span style="color: red;">The rule of faith is indicated by the law of our worship</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Throughout history many popes have expressly reaffirmed this rule of faith: that there is only one baptism for the remission of sins.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>The Nicene‐Constantinople Creed</i>, 381, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">We confess <b>one baptism for the remission of sins</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Celestine I, <i>Council of Ephesus</i>, 431: “<span style="color: blue;">Having read these holy phrases and finding ourselves in agreement (</span><i style="color: blue;">for ‘there is one Lord, one faith, </i><b><span style="color: red;">one baptism</span></b><i style="color: blue;">’</i><span style="color: blue;"> [</span><i style="color: blue;">Eph. 4:5</i><span style="color: blue;">]), we have given glory to God who is the savior of all . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Leo IX, <i>Congratulamur Vehementer</i>, April 13, 1053: “<span style="color: blue;">I believe that the one true Church is holy, Catholic and apostolic, </span><b><span style="color: red;">in which is given one baptism</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and the true remission of all sins</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Boniface VIII, <i>Unam Sanctam</i>, Nov. 18, 1302, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">One is my dove, my perfect one . . . &nbsp;which represents the one mystical body whose head is Christ, of Christ indeed, as God. And in this, ‘one Lord, one faith, <b>one baptism</b>’ (<i>Eph. 4:5</i>)</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Clement V, <i>Council of Vienne</i>, Decree # 30, 1311‐1312, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">Since however there is for both regulars and seculars, for superiors and subjects, for exempt and non‐exempt, <b><i>one universal Church, outside of which there is no salvation</i></b>, for all of whom there is <i>one Lord, one faith, and<b> one baptism </b>. . .</i></span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius VI, <i>Inscrutabile </i>(# 8), Dec. 25, 1775: “<span style="color: blue;">. . . We exhort and advise you to be all of one mind and in harmony as you strive for the same object, </span><b><span style="color: red;">just as the Church has</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> one faith, </span><b><span style="color: red;">one baptism</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and one spirit</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XII, <i>Ubi Primum</i> (# 14), May 5, 1824: “<b><span style="color: red;">By it we are taught, and by divine faith we hold</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> one Lord, one faith, </span><b><span style="color: red;">one baptism</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and that no other name under heaven is given to men except the name of Jesus Christ in which we must be saved. </span><b><span style="color: red;">This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius VIII, <i>Traditi Humilitati</i> (# 4), May 24, 1829: “<span style="color: blue;">Against these experienced sophists the people must be taught that </span><b><span style="color: red;">the profession of the Catholic faith is uniquely true</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, as the apostle proclaims: one Lord, one faith,</span><span style="color: red;"> one baptism (<i>Eph. 4:5</i>)</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Pope Gregory XVI, </span><i style="color: blue;">Mirari Vos</i><span style="color: blue;"> (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: “With the admonition of the apostle that ‘there is one God, one faith, </span><b><span style="color: red;">one baptism’ (<i>Eph. 4:5</i>)</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Graves de communi re</i> (# 8), Jan. 18, 1901: “<b><span style="color: red;">Hence the doctrine of the Apostle</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, who warns us that ‘We are one body and spirit called to the one hope in our vocation; one Lord, one faith and </span><b><span style="color: red;">one baptism</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To say that there are “<i>three baptisms</i>,” as many unfortunately do, is heretical. There is only one baptism, which is celebrated in water (<i>de fide</i>).</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Clement V, <i>Council of Vienne</i>, 1311‐1312, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">Besides, <b><u>one baptism</u></b> which regenerates all who are baptized in Christ <u><b>must be faithfully confessed by all</b></u> just as ‘<i>one God and one faith</i>’ [<i>Eph. 4:5</i>], <u><b>which celebrated in water</b></u> in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit we believe to be commonly the perfect remedy for salvation for adults as for children</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here Pope Clement V defines as a dogma that <b><span style="color: red;">ONE BAPTISM</span></b> must be faithfully confessed by all, <b><span style="color: red;">which is celebrated in water</span></b>. This means that all Catholics must profess one baptism of water, not three baptisms: of water, blood and desire. To confess “<i>three baptisms</i>,” and not one, is to contradict defined Catholic dogma. Did those who believe that there are three baptisms (<i>water, blood and desire</i>) ever wonder why countless popes have professed that there is only one baptism, and not a single one of them bothered to tell us about the so‐called “<i>other two</i>”?</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-76088078174544826712013-02-24T10:11:00.000+08:002013-02-24T10:11:43.747+08:00Those who Die in Original Sin or Mortal Sin Descend into Hell<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPhT56dXXuw/USl1H6u970I/AAAAAAAAO7U/jL0S1F-ERmo/s1600/hell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="566" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pPhT56dXXuw/USl1H6u970I/AAAAAAAAO7U/jL0S1F-ERmo/s640/hell.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Eleventh</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">11. <u>Those who Die in Original Sin or Mortal Sin Descend into Hell</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As I have proven above, there is no possible way for children to be freed from original sin other than through the Sacrament of Baptism. This, of course, proves that there is no way for infants to be saved other than through the Sacrament of Baptism. So the following definitions merely affirm what has already been established: no child can possibly enter the kingdom of Heaven without receiving water baptism, but will rather descend into Hell.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, “Letentur coeli,” Sess. 6, July 6, 1439, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">We define also that . . . <b>the souls of those who depart this life in actual mortal sin, or in original sin alone, go straightaway to hell</b>, but to undergo punishments of different kinds</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius VI, <i>Auctorem fidei</i>, Aug. 28, 1794: “<span style="color: blue;">26. </span><b style="color: red;">The doctrine which rejects as a Pelagian fable, that place of the lower regions (</b><i style="color: red; font-weight: bold;">which the faithful generally designate by the name of the limbo of the children</i><b style="color: red;">) in which the souls of those departing with the sole guilt of original sin are punished with the punishment of the condemned, exclusive of the punishment of fire, </b><span style="color: blue;">just as if, by this very fact, that these who remove the punishment of fire introduced that middle place and state free of guilt and of punishment between the kingdom of God and eternal damnation, such as that about which the Pelagians idly talk</span>” – <b><span style="color: red;">Condemned</span></b> as false, rash, injurious to Catholic schools.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here Pope Pius VI condemns the idea of some theologians that infants who die in original sin suffer the fires of Hell. At the same time, he confirms that these infants do go to a part of the lower regions (<i>i.e., Hell</i>) called the limbo of the children. They do not go to Heaven, but to a place in Hell where there is no fire. This is perfectly in accord with all of the other solemn definitions of the Church, which teach that infants who die without water baptism descend into Hell, but suffer a punishment different from those who die in mortal sin. Their punishment is eternal separation from God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Mit brennender Sorge</i> (# 25), March 14, 1937: “‘<i><b><span style="color: red;">Original sin</span></b></i><span style="color: blue;">’ is the hereditary but impersonal fault of Adam’s descendants, who have sinned in him (</span><i style="color: blue;">Rom. v. 12</i><span style="color: blue;">). </span><b><span style="color: red;">It is the loss of grace, and therefore eternal life</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, together with a propensity to evil, which everybody must, with the assistance of grace, penance, resistance and moral effort, repress and conquer</span>.”</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-48512897590314454272013-02-24T09:51:00.001+08:002013-02-24T09:52:39.372+08:00Infants Cannot Be Saved Without Baptism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5R60YaGYIdE/USltQzE8uxI/AAAAAAAAO6s/34-iGNEw50o/s1600/Catholic+Infant+Baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-5R60YaGYIdE/USltQzE8uxI/AAAAAAAAO6s/34-iGNEw50o/s640/Catholic+Infant+Baptism.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Tenth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">10. <u>Infants Cannot Be Saved Without Baptism</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The teaching of the Catholic Church already cited shows that no one can be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism. Obviously, therefore, this means that children and infants also cannot get to Heaven without Baptism because they are conceived in a state of original sin, which cannot be removed without the Sacrament of Baptism. But this truth of the Catholic Church is denied by many people today. They look at the horrible tragedy of abortion – the millions of slaughtered children – and they conclude that these children must be headed to Heaven. But such a conclusion is heretical. &nbsp;The worst part of abortion is the fact that these children are barred from entrance into Heaven, not that they don’t get to live in this pagan world. Satan delights in abortion because he knows that these souls can never get to Heaven without the Sacrament of Baptism. If aborted children went straight to Heaven without the Sacrament of Baptism, as many today believe, then Satan wouldn’t be behind abortion.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Church teaches that aborted children and infants who die without baptism descend immediately into Hell, but that they do not suffer the fires of Hell. They go to a place in Hell called the limbo of the children. The most specific definition of the Church proving that there is no possible way for an infant to be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism is the following one from Pope Eugene IV.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, Session 11, Feb. 4, 1442, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>Regarding childre</b>n, indeed, because of danger of death, which can often take place, <b><u>when no help can be brought to them by another remedy than through the sacrament of baptism</u></b>, <b>through which they are snatched from the domination of the Devil [<i>original sin</i>] and adopted among the sons of God</b>, it advises that holy baptism ought not be deferred for forty or eighty days, or any time according to the observance of certain people . . .</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV here defined <i><span style="color: red;"><b>from the Chair of Peter</b></span></i> that there is <b><i><u><span style="color: red;">no other remedy</span></u></i></b> for infants to be snatched away from the dominion of the devil (<i>i.e., original sin</i>) other than the Sacrament of Baptism. This means that anyone who obstinately teaches that infants can be saved without receiving the Sacrament of Baptism is a heretic, for he is teaching that there is <b><i><span style="color: red;">another remedy</span></i></b> for original sin in children other than the Sacrament of Baptism.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Martin V, <i>Council of Constance</i>, Session 15, July 6, 1415 ‐ Condemning the articles of John Wyclif ‐ Proposition 6: “<b><span style="color: red;"><u>Those who claim that the children of the faithful dying without sacramental baptism will not be saved, are stupid and presumptuous in saying this</u></span></b>.” ‐ <b><span style="color: red;">Condemned &nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">This is a fascinating proposition from <i>The Council of Constance</i></span></b>. Unfortunately, this proposition is not found in Denzinger, which only contains some of the Council’s decrees, but it is found in a full collection of the Council of Constance. The arch‐heretic John Wyclif was proposing that those (<i>such as ourselves</i>) are stupid for teaching that infants who die without <b><i><u><span style="color: red;">water</span></u></i></b> (<i>i.e., sacramental</i>) baptism cannot possibly be saved. He was anathematized for this assertion, among many others. And here is what the Council of Constance had to say about John Wyclif’s anathematized propositions, such as #6 above.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Martin V, <i>Council of Constance</i>, Session 15, July 6, 1415: “<span style="color: blue;">The books and pamphlets of John Wyclif, </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>of cursed memory</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">, were carefully examined by the doctors and masters of Oxford University . . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">This holy synod, therefore, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, repudiates and condemns, by this perpetual decree, the aforesaid articles and each of them in particular; and it forbids each and every Catholic henceforth, under pain of anathema, to preach, teach, or hold the said articles or any one of them</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So those who criticize Catholics for affirming the dogma that no infant can be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism are actually proposing the anathematized heresy of John Wyclif. Here are some other dogmatic definitions on the topic.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Zosimus, <i>The Council of Carthage</i>, Canon on Sin and Grace, 417 A.D. ‐ “<b><span style="color: red;">It has been decided likewise that if anyone says</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> that for this reason the Lord said: <b><i>‘In my Father’s house there are many mansions</i></b>’ [</span><i style="color: blue;">John 14:2</i><span style="color: blue;">]: </span><b><span style="color: red;">that it might be understood that in the kingdom of heaven there will be some middle place or some place anywhere where the blessed infants live who departed from this life without baptism, without which they cannot enter into the kingdom of heaven, which is life eternal, let him be anathema</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>The Council of Trent</i>, On Original Sin, Session V, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">If anyone says that recently born babies should not be baptized even if they have been born to baptized parents; <b>or says that they are indeed baptized for the remission of sins, but incur no trace of the original sin of Adam <u>needing to be cleansed by the laver of rebirth</u> for them to obtain eternal life</b>, with the necessary consequence that in their case there is being understood a form of baptism for the remission of sins which is not true, but false: <b>let him be anathema</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This means that anyone who asserts that infants don’t need the “<i>laver of rebirth</i>” (<i>water baptism</i>) to attain eternal life is teaching heresy.</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-55300050355271175972013-02-24T09:15:00.000+08:002013-02-24T09:15:27.388+08:00Water is Necessary for Baptism and John 3:5 is Literal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZ5I3kpdgU8/USllVKBlziI/AAAAAAAAO6E/0diVtIvowiY/s1600/Catholic+Baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="314" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KZ5I3kpdgU8/USllVKBlziI/AAAAAAAAO6E/0diVtIvowiY/s400/Catholic+Baptism.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Ninth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">9. <u>Water is Necessary for Baptism and John 3:5 is Literal</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><i><span style="color: red;">JESUS ANSWERED: AMEN, AMEN, I SAY TO THEE, UNLESS A MAN BE BORN AGAIN OF WATER AND THE HOLY GHOST, HE CANNOT ENTER INTO THE KINGDOM OF GOD</span></i></b>.” (<b><i>JOHN 3:5</i></b>)</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catholic Church is the guardian and interpreter of the Sacred Scriptures. She alone has been given the power and authority to infallibly determine the true sense of the sacred texts.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>First Vatican Council</i>, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870: “. . . <span style="color: blue;">We, renewing the same decree, declare this to be its intention: that, in matters of faith and morals pertaining to the instruction of Christian Doctrine</span>, <b><span style="color: red;">that must be considered as the true sense of Sacred Scripture which Holy Mother Church has held and holds, whose office it is to judge concerning the true understanding and interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures</span></b>; <span style="color: blue;">and, for that reason, no one is permitted to interpret Sacred Scripture itself contrary to this sense, or even contrary to the unanimous consent of the Fathers</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But not every scripture is understood by the Catholic Church in the literal sense. For example, in <b>Matthew 5:29</b>, Our Lord Jesus Christ tells us that if our eye scandalizes us we should pluck it out, for it is better that it should perish than our whole body in Hell.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matt. 5:29</b> ‐ “<span style="color: blue;">And if thy right eye scandalize thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee. For it is expedient for thee that one of thy members should perish, rather than thy whole body be cast into hell</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But Our Lord’s words here are not to be understood literally. His words are spoken figuratively to describe an occasion of sin or something in life that may scandalize us and be a hindrance to our salvation. We must pluck it out and cut it off, says Our Lord, because it is better to be without it than to perish altogether in the fires of Hell. On the other hand, other verses of scripture are understood by the Church in the literal sense. For example:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matt. 26:26‐28</b> “<span style="color: blue;">And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke: and gave to his disciples, and said: Take ye, and eat. </span><b><span style="color: red;">This is my body</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks, and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. </span><b><span style="color: red;">For this is my blood</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of the new testament, which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When Our Lord Jesus Christ says in <b>Matthew 26:26</b>: “<i>This is My Body</i>,” and in <b>Matthew 26:28</b>: “<i>This is My Blood</i>,” His words are understood by the Catholic Church exactly as they are written, for we know that Our Lord Jesus Christ was indeed referring to His actual Body and Blood, not a symbol or a figure. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So the question is: How does the Catholic Church understand the words of Jesus Christ in <b>John 3:5</b> ‐ <i><span style="color: red;"><b>Amen, amen, I say to thee, unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God</b></span></i>? Does the Catholic Church understand these words as they are written or in some other way? Does the Catholic Church understand these words to mean that <b><u><span style="color: red;">every man must be born again of water and the Holy Ghost to be saved</span></u></b>, as Our Lord says? The answer is clear: every single dogmatic definition that the Catholic Church has issued dealing with Our Lord’s words in <b>John 3:5</b> understands them literally, exactly as they are written.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>The Council of Florence</i>, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. <b>And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘<u>unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven</u></b>’ <i>[John 3:5</i>]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This means that Our Lord Jesus Christ’s declaration that no man can be saved without being born again of <b><u><span style="color: red;">water and the Holy Ghost</span></u></b> is a literal dogma of the Catholic Faith.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>The Council of Trent</i>, Can. 2 on the Sacrament of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">If anyone shall say that real and natural water is not necessary for baptism, <b><u>and on that account those words of Our Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Spirit’ [<i>John 3:5</i>], are distorted into some sort of metaphor</u></b>: let him be anathema</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>The Council of Trent</i>, Can. 5 on the <b><u><span style="color: blue;">Sacrament</span></u></b> of Baptism, Sess. 7, 1547, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><u><b>If anyone says that baptism [<i>the sacrament</i>] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation</b></u> (<i>cf. Jn. 3:5</i>): let him be anathema</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>The Council of Trent</i>, On Original Sin, Session V, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">By one man sin entered into the world, and by sin death . . . that in them there may be washed away by regeneration, what they have contracted by generation, ‘<b><u>For unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God</u></b><i> [John 3:5]</i></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Zosimus, <i>The Council of Carthage XVI</i>, on Original Sin and Grace: “<b><span style="color: red;">For when the Lord says: ‘Unless a man be born again of water and the Holy Ghost, he shall not enter into the kingdom of God’ [John 3:5]</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, what Catholic will doubt that he will be a partner of the devil who has not deserved to be a coheir of Christ. For he who lacks the right part will without doubt run into the left</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Gregory IX, <i>Cum, sicut ex</i>, July 8, 1241, to Sigurd of Nidaros: “<span style="color: blue;">Since as we have learned from your report, it sometimes happens because of scarcity of water, that infants of your lands are baptized in beer, we reply to you in the tenor of those present that, </span><b><span style="color: red;">since according to evangelical doctrine it is necessary ‘to be reborn from water and the Holy Spirit’ (<i>Jn. 3:5</i>)</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> they are not to be considered rightly baptized who are baptized in beer</span>.”</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-15942974271880005832013-02-24T08:25:00.000+08:002013-02-24T08:29:45.844+08:00Sacrament of Baptism is Necessary for Salvation<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jIPFbsaMxWE/USlbKH9jGkI/AAAAAAAAO5c/4Do1RdqtDdI/s1600/Baptism+of+Christ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jIPFbsaMxWE/USlbKH9jGkI/AAAAAAAAO5c/4Do1RdqtDdI/s640/Baptism+of+Christ.jpg" width="481" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Baptism of Christ by Pietro Perugino</b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Eighth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">8. <u>The Sacrament of Baptism is Necessary for Salvation</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">To further show that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation, I will quote numerous other infallible statements from the Chair of St. Peter.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>The Council of Trent</i>, Sess. 7, Can. 5 on the <u>Sacrament</u> of Baptism, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<b><span style="color: red;">If anyone says that baptism [<i>the Sacrament</i>] is optional, that is, not necessary for salvation (<i>cf. Jn. 3:5</i>): let him be anathema</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This infallible dogmatic definition from the Chair of St. Peter condemns anyone who says that the Sacrament of Baptism is not necessary for salvation. The Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for all for salvation, first of all, because, as the Council of Trent defines, all men (except the Blessed Virgin Mary) were conceived in a state of original sin <u><span style="color: red;">as a result of the sin of Adam, the first man</span></u>. The Sacrament of Baptism is also necessary for all for salvation because it is the means by which one is marked as a member of Jesus Christ and incorporated into His Mystical Body. And in defining the truth that all men were conceived in the state of Original Sin, the Council of Trent specifically declared that the Blessed Virgin Mary was an exception to its decree on Original Sin.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But in defining the truth that the Sacrament of Baptism is necessary for salvation, the Council of Trent made no exceptions at all.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>The Council of Florence</i>, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439: “<span style="color: blue;">Holy baptism, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church. </span><span style="color: red;"><b>And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘<u>unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven</u>’ [<i>John 3:5</i>]</b></span><span style="color: blue;">. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Innocent III, <i>Fourth Lateran Council</i>, Constitution 1, 1215, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>But the sacrament of baptism is consecrated in water at the invocation of the undivided Trinity – namely, Father, Son and Holy Ghost – and brings salvation to both children and adults </b>when it is correctly carried out by anyone in the form laid down by the Church</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Benedict XIV, <i>Nuper ad nos</i>, March 16, 1743, Profession of Faith: “<b><span style="color: red;">Likewise (I profess) that baptism is necessary for salvation, and hence, if there is imminent danger of death, it should be conferred at once and without delay</span></b>, and that it is valid if conferred with the right matter and form and intention by anyone, and at any time.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Quas Primas</i> (# 15), Dec. 11, 1925 : “Indeed this kingdom is presented in the Gospels as such, into which men prepare to enter by doing penance; <b><span style="color: red;"><u>moreover, they cannot enter it except through</u> faith and baptism</span></b>, which, although <b><u><span style="color: red;">an external rite</span></u></b>, yet signifies and effects an interior regeneration.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We see here that one cannot enter the kingdom of Heaven without faith and the external rite of baptism (<i>i.e., the Sacrament of Baptism</i>).</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-7112682043022856642013-02-24T07:42:00.002+08:002013-02-24T07:48:05.431+08:00Subjection to the Catholic Church | Roman Pontiff<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJHSx0la4qQ/USlQHGvfM9I/AAAAAAAAO40/QQl3qn6Gn3A/s1600/St.+Peter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nJHSx0la4qQ/USlQHGvfM9I/AAAAAAAAO40/QQl3qn6Gn3A/s400/St.+Peter.jpg" width="303" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>St. Peter the Apostle of Christ</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Seventh</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">7. <u>Subjection to the Church | Roman Pontiff</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second definition from the Chair of Peter on Outside the Church There is No Salvation came from Pope Boniface VIII in the Bull Unam Sanctam.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Boniface VIII, <i>Unam Sanctam</i>, Nov. 18, 1302, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess this Church outside of which there is no salvation nor remission of sin . . . <b>Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to <u>every human creature</u> that they by absolute necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This means infallibly that <i><span style="color: red;">every human creature</span></i> must be subject to the Roman Pontiff for salvation. Obviously, this does not mean that one must be subject to an antipope for salvation, which is what we have today. It means that everyone must be subject to the true pope, if and when we have one.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But how are infants subject to the Roman Pontiff? This is a good question. Notice that Pope Boniface VIII did not declare that every human creature must <i><span style="color: red;">know </span></i>the Roman Pontiff, but that every human creature must <i><span style="color: red;">be subject</span></i> to the Roman Pontiff. Infants become subject to the Roman Pontiff by their baptism into the one Church of Christ, of which the Roman Pontiff is the head.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Nobilissima </i>(# 3), Feb. 8, 1884: “<span style="color: blue;">The Church, guardian of the integrity of the Faith – which, in virtue of its authority, deputed from God its Founder, has to call all nations to the knowledge of Christian lore, and which is consequently bound to watch keenly over the teaching and upbringing </span><span style="color: red;"><b>of the children placed under its authority by baptism</b></span><span style="color: blue;"> . . .</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Children are placed under the authority of the Church by baptism. Thus, by their baptism <i><span style="color: red;">they are made subject</span></i> to the Roman Pontiff, since the Roman Pontiff possesses supreme authority in the Church (First Vatican Council, de fide). This proves that <span style="color: red;"><b>baptism is actually the first component in determining whether or not one is subject to the Roman Pontiff. If one has not been baptized, then one cannot be subject to the Roman Pontiff, because the Church exercises judgment <i>(i.e., jurisdiction</i>) over no one who has not entered the Church through the Sacrament of Baptism (<i>de fide</i>)</b></span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Julius III, <i>Council of Trent</i>, <u><span style="color: blue;">On the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance</span></u>, Sess. 14, Chap. 2, <i><b><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></b></i>: “<b><span style="color: red;">. . . since <u>the Church exercises judgment on no one who has not previously entered it by the gate of baptism</u>. <i>For what have I to do with those who are without</i> (<i>1 Cor. 5:12</i>), says the Apostle. It is otherwise with those of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord by the laver of baptism has once made ‘<i>members of his own body</i>’ (<i>1 Cor. 12:13</i>)</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;">It is not possible, therefore, to be subject to the Roman Pontiff without receiving the Sacrament of Baptism</span></b>, since the Church (<i>and the Roman Pontiff</i>) cannot exercise judgment (<i>jurisdiction</i>) over an unbaptized person (<i>de fide, Trent</i>). <b><span style="color: red;">And since it is not possible to be subject to the Roman Pontiff without the Sacrament of Baptism, it is not possible to be saved without the Sacrament of Baptism, since every human creature must be subject to the Roman Pontiff for salvation</span></b> (<i>de fide, Boniface VIII</i>).</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-5424375556187686162013-02-22T18:59:00.001+08:002013-02-22T18:59:13.277+08:00Catholic Church<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jH2PytmykqE/USdFJzE_JuI/AAAAAAAAO4M/ChRWI1ZgqYw/s1600/Catholic+Church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-jH2PytmykqE/USdFJzE_JuI/AAAAAAAAO4M/ChRWI1ZgqYw/s640/Catholic+Church.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">The Vatican</span></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Sixth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">6. <u>The One Church of the Faithful&nbsp;</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Innocent III, <i>Fourth Lateran Council</i>, Constitution 1, 1215, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>THERE IS INDEED ONE UNIVERSAL CHURCH OF THE FAITHFUL, outside of which nobody at all is saved, in which Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrifice</b></span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The first dogmatic definition from the Chair of Peter on Outside the Church There is No Salvation (<i>from Pope Innocent III</i>) taught that the Catholic Church is the one Church “<i>of the faithful</i>,” outside of which <b><span style="color: red;"><i>no one at all is saved</i></span></b>. &nbsp;But who are “<i>the faithful</i>”? &nbsp;Can one who has not been baptized be considered part of “<i>the faithful</i>”? If we look to Catholic Tradition, the answer is a resounding “<u><span style="color: red;"><b>N</b></span><b><span style="color: red;">o</span></b></u>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As many of you know, the Catholic Mass is divided into two parts: the Mass of the Catechumens (<i>those preparing to be baptized</i>) and the Mass of the Faithful (<i>those baptized</i>).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the early Church, the unbaptized catechumens (<i>i.e., those who had not received <b><u><span style="color: red;">the Sacramen</span></u></b>t of Baptism</i>) had to leave after the Mass of the catechumens, when the faithful professed the Creed. &nbsp;<b><span style="color: red;">The unbaptized were not allowed to stay for the Mass of the faithful</span></b>, because it is only by receiving the Sacrament of Baptism that one becomes one of the faithful. <b><u><span style="color: red;">This is the teaching of Tradition</span></u></b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Casimir Kucharek, <i>The Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom:</i> “<span style="color: blue;">In Canon 19 of the Synod of Laodicea (A.D. 343-381), for example, we read: ‘After the sermons of the bishops, the prayer for the catechumens is to be said by itself first; </span><b><span style="color: red;">when the catechumens have gone out</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, the prayer for those who are doing penance; and after these . . . there should then be offered </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">the three prayers of the faithful . . .</span></i></b>’”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we see the 4th century Synod of Laodicea affirming the tradition that unbaptized catechumens were to depart from the Liturgy before the Mass of the Faithful began. And this distinction between the Mass of the Catechumens and the Mass of the Faithful was a staple in the ancient rites of the Catholic Church. Hence, Fr. Casimir Kucharek, in his large work on <i>the Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom</i>, says that the Liturgy of the Catechumens is “<b><span style="color: red;">present in <u>all</u> Rites . . .</span></b>” In other words, <b><u><span style="color: red;">all</span></u></b> of the ancient Catholic rites testified to the fact that no unbaptized person could be considered part of <i><span style="color: red;">the faithful</span></i> <span style="color: red;"><b>because they </b><i>all </i><b>dismissed unbaptized catechumens before the Mass of the Faithful began</b></span>!&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Hence Fr. Casimir Kucharek further writes:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“[St.] Athanasius mentions that they (<i>catechumens</i>) were not allowed to be present at the mysteries, while Cyril of Alexandria speaks of their departure before the more solemn parts of the service.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catholic Encyclopedia acknowledges the same teaching of Tradition.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catholic Encyclopedia, “<i>Faithful</i>,” Vol. 5, p. 769: “<i><span style="color: blue;">St. Augustine (says): ‘Ask a man: are you a Christian? If he be a pagan or Jew, he will reply: I am not a Christian. But if he say: I am a Christian, ask him again: are </span><b><span style="color: red;">you a catechumen, or one of the faithful</span></b><span style="color: blue;">?</span></i>’”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the third century, the early Church father Tertullian criticized the custom of certain heretics who disregarded this crucial distinction between the unbaptized and<i><span style="color: red;"> the faithful</span></i>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catholic Encyclopedia, “<i>Catechumen</i>,” Vol. 3, p. 430: “<span style="color: blue;">Tertullian reproaches the heretics with disregarding it; among them, he says, </span><i><span style="color: blue;">‘</span><span style="color: red;"><b>one does not know which is the catechumen and which the faithful, all alike come [to the mysteries]</b></span><span style="color: blue;">, </span><span style="color: red;">all hear the same discourses, and say the same prayers</span></i>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Finally, I will quote a prayer from the ancient Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. The prayer was recited at the dismissal of the catechumens before the Mass of the Faithful began.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Byzantine-Slav Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom, <i>Dismissal of the Catechumens</i>: “<i><b><span style="color: red;">Let us, <u>the faithful</u>, pray for the catechumens</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, that the Lord have mercy on them… Lord and God, Jesus Christ, as the salvation of mankind: look down upon your servants, the catechumens, who bow their heads before you. </span><b><span style="color: red;">In due time make them worthy of the waters of regeneration, the forgiveness of their sins, and the robe of immortality. Unite them to your holy, catholic, and apostolic church</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and number them among your chosen flock</span></i>."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Here we see that the ancient eastern rite liturgy of St. John Chrysostom makes a forceful distinction between the unbaptized (<i>the catechumens</i>) and <i><span style="color: red;">the faithful</span></i>. <b><span style="color: red;">It confirms that because the catechumens are not baptized into <i><u>the faithful</u></i>, they are not forgiven their sins or united to the Catholic Church</span></b>. The unbaptized do not belong to the one Church of the faithful. This is part of the ancient Catholic Faith. And obviously this fact is not proven to be part of the ancient Catholic Faith simply because an early Church father stated it – for a statement from a given early Church father doesn’t prove this definitively; but rather it is proven because the testimonies of the aforementioned saints are in perfect harmony with the clear teaching of Catholic liturgical worship, which divides the Mass of Catechumens from the Mass of the Faithful. It is, therefore, the teaching and rule of Catholic worship that no unbaptized person is to be considered part of <i><span style="color: red;"><b>the faithful</b></span></i>. <b><span style="color: red;">And this is why all who died without the Sacrament of Baptism were refused Christian burial everywhere in the universal Church since the beginning</span></b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And because this was the universal rule of worship in the Catholic Church, it was the expression of the universal Faith and Tradition of the Catholic Church.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Pope Pius XI, </span><i style="color: blue;">Quas Primas</i><span style="color: blue;"> (# 12), Dec. 11, 1925: “The perfect harmony of the Eastern liturgies with our own in this continual praise of Christ the King shows once more the truth of the axiom: </span><i><span style="color: blue;">Legem credendi lex statuit supplicandi</span></i><span style="color: blue;">. </span><b><span style="color: red;">The rule of faith is indicated by the law of our worship</span></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Therefore, it would be contrary to Tradition to assert that a person who has not received the Sacrament of Baptism is part of <i><span style="color: red;">the faithful</span></i>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. John Chrysostom (<i>Hom. in Io. 25, 3</i>), (<i>4th Century</i>): “<b><span style="color: red;">For the Catechumen is a stranger to the Faithful . . .</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> One has Christ for his King; the other sin and the devil; the food of one is Christ, of the other, that meat which decays and perishes . . . Since then we have nothing in common, in what, tell me, shall we hold communion? . . . Let us then give diligence that we may become citizens of the city above . . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">for if it should come to pass (<i>which God forbid!</i>) that through the sudden arrival of death we depart hence uninitiated [<i>unbaptized</i>], though we have ten thousand virtues, our portion will be none other than hell</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and the venomous worm, and fire unquenchable, and bonds indissoluble."</span>&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. Ambrose, (<i>4th Century</i>) Bishop and Doctor of the Church: “<span style="color: blue;">I shall now begin to instruct you on the sacrament you have received; of whose nature it was not fitting to speak to you before this; </span><b><span style="color: red;">for in the Christian what comes first is faith. And at Rome for this reason those who have been baptized are called the faithful (<i>fideles</i>)</span></b>."&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This teaching of Tradition is why in the Traditional Rite of Baptism, the unbaptized catechumen is asked what he desires from holy Church, <span style="color: red;">and he answers</span> “<b><span style="color: red;">Faith</span></b>.” The unbaptized catechumen does not have “<i>the Faith</i>,” so he begs the Church for it in the “<i>Sacrament of Faith</i>” (<i>Baptism</i>), which alone makes him one of “<i>the faithful.</i>” This is why the Sacrament of Baptism has been known since apostolic times as “<i>the Sacrament of Faith</i>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Catechism of the Council of Trent</i>, On Baptism – Effects of Baptism: “<i>. . . Baptism . . . <b><span style="color: red;">the Sacrament of faith . . .</span></b></i>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><i>Catechism of the Council of Trent</i>, On Baptism – Second Effect: Sacramental Character: “<b><span style="color: red;">. . . Baptism . . . By it we are qualified to receive the other Sacraments, and the Christian is distinguished from those who do not profess the faith</span></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Clement VI, <i>Super quibusdam</i>, Sept. 20, 1351: “ <b><span style="color: red;">. . . all those who <u>in baptism have received the same Catholic faith</u> . . .</span></b>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Paul III, <i>Council of Tren</i>t, Session 6, Chap. 7 on Justification, ex cathedra: “<b><span style="color: red;"> . . . THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM, <u>WHICH IS ‘THE SACRAMENT OF FAITH</u> . . . THIS FAITH, IN ACCORDANCE WITH APOSTOLIC TRADITION, CATECHUMENS BEG OF THE CHURCH BEFORE THE SACRAMENT OF BAPTISM</span></b>, <span style="color: red;">when they ask for ‘faith which bestows life eternal,’ (Rit. Rom., Ordo Baptismi).</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And with these facts in mind (<i>that a catechumen “begs” for the faith because he isn’t part of the faithful</i>), remember the definition of Pope Innocent III at the Fourth Lateran Council: “<span style="color: red;">There is indeed one universal Church of <b><u>the faithful</u></b>, outside of which nobody at all is saved . . .</span>” The original Latin reads: “<span style="color: red;">Una vero est fidelium universalis ecclesia, extra quam <b><u>nullus omnino</u></b> salvatur . . .</span>” The Latin words <b><i><span style="color: red;">nullus omnino</span></i></b> mean “<b><span style="color: red;">absolutely nobody</span></b>.” Absolutely nobody outside the one Church of the faithful is saved. &nbsp;Since the one Church of “<b><span style="color: red;">the faithful</span></b>” only includes those who have received the Sacrament of Baptism – as apostolic tradition, liturgical tradition and Church dogma show – this means that absolutely nobody is saved without the Sacrament of Baptism.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-68746846980067252852013-02-22T17:41:00.000+08:002013-02-22T17:52:45.775+08:00The Sacrament of Baptism<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ASDwohDYs7E/USc8DrN0p9I/AAAAAAAAO4E/bu73QyXeEc8/s1600/catholic+baptism.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ASDwohDYs7E/USc8DrN0p9I/AAAAAAAAO4E/bu73QyXeEc8/s400/catholic+baptism.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://cathapol.blogspot.com/2012/09/catholic-baptism.html" target="_blank">Catholic Baptism</a></b></td></tr></tbody></table></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><span style="color: red;"><u>Fifth</u> </span></b>part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><b style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">5. <u>The Sacrament of Baptism is the only Way into the Church</u></span></b><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Catholic Church has always taught that receiving the Sacrament of Baptism is the only way into Christ’s Church, outside of which there is no salvation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Julius III, <i>Council of Trent</i>, <u><span style="color: blue;">On the Sacraments of Baptism and Penance</span></u>, Sess. 14, Chap. 2, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: blue;">But in fact this sacrament [</span><i style="color: blue;">Penance</i><span style="color: blue;">] is seen to differ in many respects from baptism. &nbsp;For, apart from the fact that the matter and form, by which the essence of a sacrament is constituted, are totally distinct, there is certainly no doubt that the minister of baptism need not be a judge, </span><span style="color: red;">since the Church exercises judgment on no one who has not previously<b> <i>entered it by the gate of baptism</i></b></span><span style="color: blue;">. &nbsp;</span><span style="color: red;"><i>For what have I to do with those who are without</i> (<i>1 Cor. 5:12</i>), says the Apostle. &nbsp;It is otherwise with those of the household of the faith, whom Christ the Lord <b>by the laver of baptism has once made ‘members of his own body’ (<i>1 Cor. 12:13</i>)</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This definition is particularly significant because it proves that only through water baptism is one incorporated into the <i><span style="color: red;">Body of the Church</span></i>. The significance of this will become clearer in the later sections where it is proven that Body membership is necessary for salvation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>The Council of Florence</i>, “Exultate Deo,” Nov. 22, 1439, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<b><u><span style="color: red;">Holy baptism</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;">, which is the gateway to the spiritual life, holds the first place among all the sacraments; </span><b><u><span style="color: red;">through it we are made members of Christ and of the body of the Church</span></u></b><span style="color: blue;">. &nbsp;And since death entered the universe through the first man, ‘unless we are born again of water and the Spirit, we cannot,’ as the Truth says, ‘enter into the kingdom of heaven’ [</span><i style="color: blue;">John 3:5</i><span style="color: blue;">]. The matter of this sacrament is real and natural water</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mystici Corporis</i> (# 22), June 29, 1943: “<b><span style="color: red;">Actually only those are to be numbered among the members of the Church who have received the laver of regeneration [water baptism] and profess the true faith</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mystici Corporis</i> (# 27), June 29, 1943: “<span style="color: blue;">He (</span><i style="color: blue;">Christ</i><span style="color: blue;">) also determined that </span><b><span style="color: red;">through Baptism (<i>cf. Jn. 3:5</i>) those who should believe would be incorporated in the Body of the Church</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XII, <i>Mediator Dei</i> (# 43), Nov. 20, 1947: “<span style="color: blue;">In the same way, actually that </span><span style="color: red;">baptism is the distinctive mark of all Christians, and serves to differentiate them from those who have not been cleansed in this purifying stream and <b><u>consequently are not members of Christ</u></b></span><span style="color: blue;">, the sacrament of holy orders sets the priest apart from the rest of the faithful who have not received this consecration</span>.”</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-10256324134166215512013-02-22T16:36:00.000+08:002013-02-22T16:36:20.903+08:00Other Popes<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KqMDYCki6tE/UScidFh_WxI/AAAAAAAAO3c/1u8iqJ_G_Sk/s1600/Popes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-KqMDYCki6tE/UScidFh_WxI/AAAAAAAAO3c/1u8iqJ_G_Sk/s640/Popes.jpg" width="490" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ghent_Altarpiece_D_-_Popes_-_Bishops.jpg" target="_blank">Painting of Popes and Bishops by Jan van Eyck called, "Ghent Altarpiece", finished 1432</a></b>.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><u><span style="color: red;">Fourth</span></u></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the Most Holy Family Monastery, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><b><span style="color: blue;">4. &nbsp;<u>Other Popes on Outside the Church There is No Salvation</u></span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to the <i>ex cathedra</i> (from the Chair of Peter) proclamations of the popes, a Catholic must also believe what is taught by the Catholic Church <b><u><span style="color: red;">as divinely revealed</span></u></b> in her Ordinary and Universal Magisterium (Magisterium = the teaching authority of the Church).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Vatican I</i>, Sess. III, Chap. 3, <i>ex cathedra</i>: “<span style="color: red;">Further, by divine and Catholic faith, all those things must be believed which are contained in the written word of God and in tradition, and those which are proposed by the Church, either in a solemn pronouncement or in her ordinary and universal teaching power, to be believed <i><b>as divinely revealed</b></i></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The teaching of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium consists of those doctrines which popes, by their common and universal teaching, propose to be believed <b><u><span style="color: red;"><i>as divinely revealed</i></span></u></b>. For instance, in their common and universal teaching, approximately 10 popes have denounced the heretical concept of liberty of conscience and worship <b><u><span style="color: red;">as contrary to revelation</span></u></b>. A Catholic cannot reject that teaching. The teaching of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium can never contradict the teaching of the Chair of Peter (<i>the dogmatic definitions</i>), of course, since both are infallible. Thus, the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium does not actually have to be considered at all in regard to Outside the Church There is No Salvation, because this dogma has been defined from the Chair of Peter and nothing in the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium can possibly contradict the Chair of Peter. &nbsp;So <b><u><span style="color: red;">beware</span></u></b> of those heretics who try to find ways to deny the Church’s dogmatic teaching on Outside the Church There is No Salvation by calling <b><u><span style="color: red;">fallible</span></u></b>, non-magisterial statements which contradict this dogma, part of the “<i>Ordinary and Universal Magisterium</i>,” when they aren’t. &nbsp;This is a clever ploy of the heretics.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the following quotations from many popes are reaffirmations of the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation. These teachings of the popes are part of the Ordinary and Universal Magisterium – and are therefore infallible – since they reiterate the universal teaching of the Chair of St. Peter on the Catholic dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation.</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Gregory the Great, quoted in <i>Summo Iugiter Studio</i>, 590-604: “<span style="color: blue;">The holy universal Church teaches that it is not possible to worship God truly except in her </span><b><span style="color: red;">and asserts that all who are outside of her will not be saved</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Innocent III, <i>Eius exemplo</i>, Dec. 18, 1208: “<span style="color: blue;">By the heart we believe and by the mouth we confess the one Church, not of heretics, </span><b><span style="color: red;">but the Holy Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church outside of which we believe that no one is saved</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Clement VI, <i>Super quibusdam</i>, Sept. 20, 1351: “<span style="color: blue;">In the second place, we ask whether you and the Armenians obedient to you believe that </span><b><span style="color: red;">no man of the wayfarers outside the faith of this Church</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and outside the obedience to the Pope of Rome, </span><b><span style="color: red;">can finally be saved</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius V, <i>Bull excommunicating the heretic Queen Elizabeth of England</i>, Feb. 25, 1570: “<span style="color: blue;">The sovereign jurisdiction of </span><b><span style="color: red;">the one holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, outside of which there is no salvation</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, has been given by Him [Jesus Christ], unto Whom all power in Heaven and on Earth is given, the King who reigns on high, but to one person on the face of the Earth, to Peter, prince of the</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Apostles. . . If any shall contravene this Our decree, we bind them with the same bond of anathema</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XII, <i>Ubi Primum</i> (# 14), May 5, 1824: “<b><span style="color: red;">It is impossible for the most true God</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, who is Truth itself, the best, the wisest Provider, and the Rewarder of good men, </span><b><span style="color: red;">to approve all sects who profess false teachings</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> which are often inconsistent with one another and contradictory, </span><b><span style="color: red;">and to confer eternal rewards on their members</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> . . . by divine faith we hold one Lord, one faith, one baptism . . . </span><span style="color: red;"><b>This is why we profess that there is no salvation outside the Church</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XII, <i>Quod hoc ineunte</i> (# 8), May 24, 1824: “<b><span style="color: red;">We address all of you who are still removed from the true Church and the road to salvation</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. In this universal rejoicing, one thing is lacking: that having been called by the inspiration of the Heavenly Spirit and having broken every decisive snare, you might sincerely agree with the </span><b style="color: red;">mother Church, outside of whose teachings there is no salvation</b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Gregory XVI, <i>Mirari Vos</i> (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: “<span style="color: blue;">With the admonition of the apostle, that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism’ (</span><i style="color: blue;">Eph. 4:5</i><span style="color: blue;">), may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that ‘those who are not with Christ are against Him,’ (</span><i style="color: blue;">Lk. 11:23</i><span style="color: blue;">) and that they disperse unhappily <u>who do not gather with Him</u>. </span><b><span style="color: red;">Therefore, ‘without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> (</span><i style="color: blue;">Athanasian Creed</i><span style="color: blue;">)</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Gregory XVI, <i>Summo Iugiter Studio</i> (# 2), May 27, 1832: “<b><span style="color: red;">Finally some of these misguided people attempt to persuade themselves and others that men are not saved only in the Catholic religion, but that even heretics may attain eternal life</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Ubi primum</i> (# 10), June 17, 1847: “<b><span style="color: red;">For ‘there is one universal Church outside of which no one at all is saved</span></b>; it contains regular and secular prelates along with those under their jurisdiction, <b><span style="color: red;">who all profess one Lord, one faith and one baptism</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Nostis et Nobiscum</i> (# 10), Dec. 8, 1849: “<span style="color: blue;">In particular, </span><b><span style="color: red;">ensure that the faithful are deeply and thoroughly convinced of the truth of the doctrine that the Catholic faith is necessary for attaining salvation</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. (</span><i style="color: blue;">This doctrine, received from Christ and emphasized by the Fathers and Councils, is also contained in the formulae of the profession of faith used by Latin, Greek and Oriental Catholics</i><span style="color: blue;">)</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Syllabus of Modern Errors</i>, Dec. 8, 1864 - Proposition 16: “<span style="color: blue;">Man may, in the observance of any religion whatever, </span><u><span style="color: red;">find the way of eternal salvation</span></u><span style="color: blue;">, and </span><u><span style="color: red;">arrive</span></u><span style="color: blue;"> at eternal salvation</span>.” – <b><span style="color: red;">Condemned</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Tametsi futura prospicientibus</i> (# 7), Nov. 1, 1900: “<span style="color: blue;">Christ is man’s ‘Way’; the Church also is his ‘Way’ . . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">Hence all who would find salvation apart from the Church, are led astray and strive in vain</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X, <i>Iucunda san</i>e (# 9), March 12, 1904: “<span style="color: blue;">Yet at the same time We cannot but remind all, great and small, as Pope St. Gregory did, of </span><b><span style="color: red;">the absolute necessity of having recourse to this Church in order to have eternal salvation</span></b> . . .”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X, <i>Editae saepe</i> (# 29), May 26, 1910: “<b><span style="color: red;">The Church alone</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> possesses together with her magisterium the power of governing and sanctifying human society. Through her ministers and servants (</span><i style="color: blue;">each in his own station and office</i><span style="color: blue;">), she </span><b><span style="color: red;">confers on mankind suitable and necessary means of salvation</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Mortalium Animos</i> (# 11), Jan. 6, 1928: &nbsp;“<b><span style="color: red;">The Catholic Churc</span></b><span style="color: blue;">h is alone in keeping the true worship. &nbsp;This is the fount of truth, this is the house of faith, this is the temple of God: if any man enter not here, or </span><b><span style="color: red;">if any man go forth from it, he is a stranger to the hope of life and salvation</span></b>.”</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-68746783362062419662013-02-22T13:49:00.000+08:002013-02-22T14:52:34.556+08:00Saint Catherine Labouré<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S6eARaTcyRQ/USbfl1gFiNI/AAAAAAAAO2c/UcyQz_MMecs/s1600/The+Incorrupt+Body+of+Catherine+Laboure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-S6eARaTcyRQ/USbfl1gFiNI/AAAAAAAAO2c/UcyQz_MMecs/s640/The+Incorrupt+Body+of+Catherine+Laboure.JPG" width="640" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This is the incorrupt body of&nbsp;Saint Catherine Labouré entombed in a glass coffin at the side altar of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal often simply called by its address, 140 Rue du Bac in Paris, France.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine was born Zoe Labouré on the evening of May 2, 1806 at Fain-lès-Moutiers, Côte-d'Or, Burgundy, France to farmer, Pierre Labouré and Louise&nbsp;Labouré&nbsp;was&nbsp;the ninth of eleven children. The day after her birth, on the feast of The True Cross, she was baptized Catherine Madeleine&nbsp;Labouré.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">From an early age felt a call to the religious life. When Catherine was nine years old, her saintly mother died on October 9, 1815. After the burial service, little Catherine retired to her room, stood on a chair, took our Lady's statue from the wall, kissed it, and said: "<span style="color: blue;">Now, dear Lady, you are to be my mother</span>."&nbsp;Her father's sister suggested that she care for his two youngest children, Catherine and Tonine. After he agreed, the sisters moved to their aunt's house at Saint-Rémy, a village nine kilometers from their home.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On January 25, 1818, Catherine made her First Communion. One day she had a dream in which a priest said to her: "<span style="color: red;">My daughter, you may flee me now, but one day you will to come to me. Do not forget that God has plans for you</span>." Sometime later, while visiting a hospital of the Daughters of Charity at Chatillon-sur-Seine, she noticed a priest's picture on the wall. She asked a sister who he might be, and was told: "<span style="color: #b45f06;">Our Holy Founder Saint Vincent de Paul</span>." This was the same priest Catherine had seen in the dream. Catherine knew she was in the right place.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Io3Qf-ggwd0/USbjZ1Of1EI/AAAAAAAAO2k/Kktj-YMMNjc/s1600/St.+Catherine+Labour%C3%A9.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Io3Qf-ggwd0/USbjZ1Of1EI/AAAAAAAAO2k/Kktj-YMMNjc/s320/St.+Catherine+Labour%C3%A9.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>St. Catherine Laboure</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">Later, on January 1830, at the age of 24, Catherine began her postulancy at&nbsp;Daughters of Charity of Saint Vincent de Paul at Chatillon-sur-Seine.&nbsp;On April 21, 1830, Catherine Labouré entered the novitiate located at their&nbsp;Mother House,&nbsp;in Rue du Bac 140, Paris taking the name Catherine. On the eve of the Feast of Saint Vincent de Paul, July 19, the Sister Superior spoke to the novices about the virtues of their Holy Founder and gave each of the novices a piece of cloth from the holy founder's surplice. Because of her extreme love, Catherine split her piece down the middle, swallowing half and placing the rest in her prayer book. She earnestly prayed to Saint Vincent that she might, with her own eyes, see the Mother of God.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On July 18, 1830, on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent 1830, Catherine woke up after hearing the voice of a "<i>shining child</i>," who she later took to be her Guardian Angel, calling her to the chapel, where she saw and heard the Virgin Mary say to her, "<span style="color: red;">God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several months later in the same year, on November 27, 1830, Catherine again saw Our Lady in the chapel during the community evening meditation. The Blessed Virgin Mary shown herself inside an oval frame, standing upon a globe, wearing many rings of different colors, most of which shone rays of light over the globe. Around the margin of the frame appeared the words: "<span style="color: red;"><i>Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous</i></span>" (<b><span style="color: red;">O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee</span></b>). As Catherine watched, the frame seemed to rotate, showing a circle of twelve stars, a large letter "<b><span style="color: red;">M</span></b>" surmounted by a cross, and the stylized Sacred Heart of Jesus and Immaculate Heart of Mary underneath. Asked why some of her rings did not shed light, Our Lady replied: "<span style="color: red;">Those are the graces for which people forget to ask</span>." Catherine then heard an interior voice spoke, telling her to take these images to her father confessor, Fr. Aladel, a Vincentian priest, to have a medal struck on this model, promising that &nbsp;"<b><span style="color: red;">All who wear them will receive great graces</span></b>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br />Click [<b><u><a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/2013/02/our-lady-of-miraculous-medal.html" target="_blank">here</a></u></b>] for Our Lady's Messages to Catherine in Rue de Bac.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine did so, and in 1836, after two years of investigation and observation of Catherine's character and behavior, Fr. Aladel took the information to the Archbishop de Quelen of Paris without revealing Catherine's identity. The Archbishop initiated an official canonical investigation into the visions. The tribunal, basing its opinion on the stability of her confessor and Catherine's character, decided to favor the authenticity of the visions. The apparitions were approved as authentic by the Archbishop, confirming that the Miraculous Medal was supernaturally inspired and responsible for genuine miracles.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The design of the medallions was commissioned through French goldsmith, Adrien Vachette and the first medal was struck on June 20, 1832. The Medal was distributed, and rapidly earned the title of the "<span style="color: blue;"><b>Miraculous Medal</b></span>." She urged devotion to it, and, because of the power working through it, numerous documented answered prayers, conversions, and miraculous healing, including those of people for whom there was totally no hope, were attributed to the Miraculous Medal.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3xK18du5eY/USbtn3Bp8kI/AAAAAAAAO2s/pZTDwD4qp98/s1600/The+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="220" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-E3xK18du5eY/USbtn3Bp8kI/AAAAAAAAO2s/pZTDwD4qp98/s320/The+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Miraculous Medal</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;">The&nbsp;Medal&nbsp;has since been reproduced, now over a billion times and distributed around the world.&nbsp;It was an important element in reviving Catholic belief in France. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception had not yet been officially promulgated by the Church at the time, but the Medal with its "<b><span style="color: red;">conceived without sin</span></b>" served in preparing the way for the proclamation of the dogma of Mary's Immaculate Conception by Pope Pius IX in 1854.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine lived her remaining years as an ordinary nursing sister in the hospices of her Order. She was pleasant and well liked by patients and her fellow nuns. After receiving permission from the Virgin Mary, Catherine told Sister Dufes, the Mother Superior, of her visions and only a few people knew that Catherine was the one who brought the Miraculous Medal to the world.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine Labouré died on December 31, 1876&nbsp;and her body was laid to rest on January 3, 1877 in a triple lined coffin &nbsp;in the crypt of the chapel at Reuilly as a requirement back then for religious orders by Paris authorities.&nbsp;Her remains were interred there until the time of her beatification in 1933.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In 1895, her Cause for Beatification was introduced in Rome.&nbsp;On July 19, 1931, Catherine was declared venerable by Pope Pius XI (Decree of Heroic Virtues).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On March 21, 1933, Catherine's tomb was opened and her body was exhumed after&nbsp;entombed for fifty seven years.&nbsp;The outer wooden coffin had already disintegrated but her body&nbsp;miraculously&nbsp;remained perfectly intact seen by several eye witnesses including&nbsp;representatives from the Archdiocese of Paris, the Daughters of Charity, the Congregation of the Mission, and medical examiners. A detailed medical examination of Catherine's exhumed remains concluded: "<span style="color: blue;">The body is in perfect state of preservation, and its joints are still supple</span>." After a detailed examination, the body was taken to the Mother House of the Daughters of Charity in Paris.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Months later, on May 28, 1933, Pope Pius XI&nbsp;beatified Catherine. After the celebration of the beatification, the body of Catherine was placed and now&nbsp;&nbsp;lies in a glass coffin&nbsp;under the renovated&nbsp;side altar of the Chapel of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal (often simply called by its address, 140 Rue du Bac), Paris, one of the spots of the apparition, honoring the "<span style="color: blue;">Virgin of the Globe</span>" where countless pilgrims have gathered close to pray for her intercession, and that of the Blessed Virgin, and where numerous miracles were reported at her tomb.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On July 27, 1947, she was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII.&nbsp;The Feast Day of St. Catherine Labouré is November 28 (it was formerly celebrated on December 31).</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSZkKggBctQ/USb_da47uiI/AAAAAAAAO20/hpLAOh_5PpU/s1600/Convent+Chapel+of+Rue+de+Bac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pSZkKggBctQ/USb_da47uiI/AAAAAAAAO20/hpLAOh_5PpU/s640/Convent+Chapel+of+Rue+de+Bac.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Chapel of the Miraculous Medal in Rue de Bac in Paris, France where the incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure lies in the side altar shown in this photograph.</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com5Rue du Bac, Paris, France48.8554582 2.325046799999995548.8450107 2.3048767999999957 48.8659057 2.3452167999999953tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-21036170159948204232013-02-21T23:46:00.000+08:002013-02-22T15:14:10.737+08:00Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1pZwweCmxjY/USYD4y5XCJI/AAAAAAAAO0o/Of1p7aysSLY/s1600/Our+Lady+of+the+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1pZwweCmxjY/USYD4y5XCJI/AAAAAAAAO0o/Of1p7aysSLY/s400/Our+Lady+of+the+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" width="230" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Catherine&nbsp;Labouré&nbsp;was a twenty-four year old&nbsp;novitiate in the order of the Sisters of Charity, when she was&nbsp;privileged to receive various visions of St. Vincent and of Jesus present in the Eucharist before experiencing two apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the first vision,&nbsp;Catherine was awakened about 11:30 p.m. on July 18,&nbsp;1830 as she heard her name called three times. She opened the curtains of her cell and saw a "<i>shining child</i>," who she later took to be her&nbsp;Guardian Angel.&nbsp;He said: "<span style="color: blue;">Follow me to the chapel, where the Virgin Mary awaits you</span>." Catherine hastily dressed herself and followed him to the chapel at the convent at Rue du Bac in Paris. The chapel was lit for the midnight-Mass, but she cannot see the Blessed Virgin. She then knelt and prayed. After half an hour her&nbsp;Guardian Angel&nbsp;said: "<span style="color: blue;">There is the Blessed Virgin Mary</span>." Catherine heard a rustle like that of silk and to the left of St. Joseph she sees the Blessed Virgin Mary descend the altar steps and sit on the chair of the Priest. Within a moment she was on her knees in front of the Blessed Virgin, with her hands confidently folded on Mary's knees. This was the beginning of a two hour long conversation.<br /><br />Our Lady spoke with her, telling her that she would have to undertake a difficult mission for her and foretold of bad times which were to come, but promised help and grace for those who prayed. She was also told of personal trials to bear and many difficulties to overcome, but that she would always have an inner certainty as to what she should do. Our Lady also spoke of the religious persecution which would break out in Paris later in the century, while also foretelling the coming events in the capital. Catherine was told to tell everything she saw and heard to her confessor and spiritual director, Fr. Aladel, a Viecentian priest, who was sceptical, but this scepticism soon disappeared when the revolution in Paris began just over a week later on July 27, 1830.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Several months later&nbsp;in the same year, on November 27, about 5:30 p.m., Catherine again saw Our Lady in the chapel during community meditation. Suddenly Catherine heard, to her right, the same rustle as before; it was the Blessed Virgin Mary. She stopped to the left near the painting of St. Joseph. Our Lady was dressed in white, standing on a globe and holding a golden ball with rings on her fingers flashing with light. An inner voice told her that the ball represented the whole world and that the rays coming from&nbsp;Our Lady's fingers represented graces for individuals.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The golden ball then vanished as the apparition changed to represent&nbsp;Our Lady&nbsp;with her arms outstretched, inside an oval frame with golden lettering: "<span style="color: red;"><i>Ô Marie, conçue sans péché, priez pour nous qui avons recours à vous</i></span>" (<b><span style="color: red;">O Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee</span></b>). Then she was shown the reverse of the medal, consisting of a large "<b><span style="color: blue;">M</span></b>" surmounted by a bar and cross, with two hearts, representing the hearts of Jesus and Mary, all encircled by twelve stars.&nbsp;Again, an interior voice spoke, telling her to have a medal struck on this model, promising that&nbsp;great graces&nbsp;will abound for persons who wear it with confidence around the neck.<br /><br />Fr. Aladel was again reluctant to act, but once the medal was struck and distributed, it rapidly earned the title of the "<b><span style="color: blue;">Miraculous Medal</span></b>." The medal has since reproduced, now over a billion times and distributed around the world.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />Catherine&nbsp;was also told by Our Lady about the new Association to be founded, the Children of Mary, of the way May would become a special Marian month, and of how devotion to the Sacred Heart would greatly increase.<br /><br /><b><u><span style="color: blue;">Church Approval</span></u></b><br /><br />In 1836, the Archbishop de Quelen of Paris initiated an official canonical&nbsp;investigation&nbsp;into the visions. Catherine refused to appear, wishing her identity to be kept a secret. Fr. Aladel pleaded to be allowed to keep her name anonymous. The tribunal, basing its opinion on the stability of her confessor and Catherine's character, decided to favor the authenticity of the visions. The apparitions were approved as authentic by the Archbishop,&nbsp;confirming that the Miraculous Medal was supernaturally inspired and responsible for genuine miracles.<br /><br />Catherine worked for 46 more years in hospices of her Order until her death in December 31, 1876. Her body lies incorrupt to this day at the site of the apparition, in the convent chapel at the Rue du Bac, where miracles were reported at her tomb.<br /><br />On July 19, 1931,&nbsp;Catherine&nbsp;was declared venerable by Pope Pius XI (Decree of Heroic Virtues), who in May 28, 1933, beatified Catherine leading to her sainthood in July 27, 1947 as canonized by Pope Pius XII.<br /><br />The Feast Day of St. Catherine&nbsp;Labouré&nbsp;is November 28 (it was formerly celebrated on December 31).<br /><u><b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></u><u><b><span style="color: blue;">Description of the Virgin&nbsp;</span></b></u><br /><br />"<span style="color: blue;">The Virgin was standing. She was of medium height, and clothed in all white. Her dress was of the whiteness of dawn, made in the style called <i>a la Vierge</i>, that is, high neck and plain sleeves. A white veil covered her head and and fell on either side of her feet. Under the veil her hair, in coils, was bound with a fillet ornamented with lace, about three centimeters in height or of two fingers' breadth, without pleats, and resting lightly on the hair. Her face was sufficiently exposed, indeed exposed very well, and so beautiful that it seems to me impossible to express her ravishing beauty</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: blue;">The Messages of Rue du Bac</span></u></b><br /><br /><b>FIRST APPARITION </b>- <b>July 18, 1830</b><br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">My child, the good God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will have much to suffer, but you will rise above these sufferings by reflecting that what you do is for the glory of God. You will know what the good God wants. You will be tormented until you have told him who is in charge with directing you. You will be contradicted, but do not fear, you will have grace. Tell with confidence all that passes within you. Tell it with simplicity. Have confidence. Do not be afraid</span>. "<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">There will be bad times to come. Misfortunes will come crashing down on France. The throne will be toppled. The whole world will be turned upside-down by misfortunes of all kinds [...] But come to the foot of this altar. There, graces will be poured out on all those, small, or great, who ask for them with confidence and fervour. Graces will be poured out especially on those who ask for them. Grave troubles are coming. There will be great danger, for this, the novitiate and other communities. At one moment when the danger is acute, everyone will believe all to be lost; you will recall my visit and [the novitiate] will have the protection of God. But it will not be the same for other communities</span>."<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">There will be victims [...] There will be victims among the clergy of Paris; Monsignor the Archbishop will die [...] My child, the Cross will be held in contempt. It will be thrown to the ground and trampled. Blood will flow. Our Saviour's side will be opened anew. The streets will run with blood. Monsignor the Archbishop will be stripped of his vestments . . . My child, the whole world will be plunged into gloom</span>."<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">My eyes will ever be upon you. I shall grant you graces. Special graces will be given to all who ask them, but people must pray</span>."<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">The ball which you see represents the whole world, especially France, and each person in particular. These rays symbolise the graces I shed upon those who ask for them. The gems from which rays do not fall are the graces for which souls forget to ask</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><b>SECOND APPARITION</b> - <b>November 27, 1830</b><br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">Have a Medal struck after this model. All who wear it will receive great graces; they should wear it around the neck. Graces will abound for persons who wear it with confidence</span>."<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">This globe which you see is the world, France in particular and for every person living in it. I am praying for it and for everyone in the world. The rays which shed on the globe from my hands are the graces which I bestow for all those who ask for them. But there are no rays that come from some of the gems (from my fingers) because those are the graces which God wishes to bestow on them but they forget to ask . . .</span>"</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwx9RnrrLpI/USY5_byu2vI/AAAAAAAAO1M/V62a07c1-cU/s1600/The+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="440" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cwx9RnrrLpI/USY5_byu2vI/AAAAAAAAO1M/V62a07c1-cU/s640/The+Miraculous+Medal.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The Miraculos Medal</b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><u><span style="color: blue;">The Prophecies Fulfilled</span></u></b><br /><br />By 1870, forty years after the first apparition, all the prophecies given at the time were fulfilled:<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">There will be bad times to come. Misfortunes will come crashing down on France. The throne will be&nbsp;</span><span style="color: red;">toppled</span>."<br /><br />The "throne" of King Charles X was "overturned" in the end of the year 1830;<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">My child, the Cross will be held in contempt. It will be thrown to the ground and trampled. Blood will flow. Our Saviour's side will be opened anew. The streets will run with blood</span>."<br /><br />Riots broke out all over Paris and Churches were desecrated.<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">There will be victims among the clergy of Paris; Monsignor the Archbishop will die</span>."<br /><br />The Archbishop Msgr. Darboy (1871) and two subsequent of Paris were murdered during this period.<br /><br />"<span style="color: red;">Monsignor the Archbishop will be stripped of his vestments</span>."<br /><br />The Archbishop was beaten and stripped of his clothes.<br /><br />“<span style="color: red;">There will be great danger, for this, the novitiate and other communities. At one moment when the danger is acute, everyone will believe all to be lost; you will recall my visit and [the novitiate] will have the protection of God. But it will not be the same for other communities</span>.”<br /><br />Some of the buildings housing religious communities were burned down; although threatened by angry crowds, the building housing the Sisters of Charity at the Rue du Bac went unharmed.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyK42QBMQxU/USY_u7aXWFI/AAAAAAAAO14/34P65tg-lR0/s1600/Convent+Chapel+of+Rue+de+Bac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="456" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LyK42QBMQxU/USY_u7aXWFI/AAAAAAAAO14/34P65tg-lR0/s640/Convent+Chapel+of+Rue+de+Bac.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="http://www.chapellenotredamedelamedaillemiraculeuse.com/EN/b3_Guided_tour.asp" target="_blank">Site of the apparition at the convent chapel in Rue de Bac</a></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Prayer to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Immaculate Virgin Mary, we honor you,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">blessed from the moment of your conception</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">with the fullness of God's redeeming grace.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">You grew in faith and in love for God</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">as you made the choice</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">each moment of your life</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">to allow God to be God in your life.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">In calling us to the altar,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">as you did St. Catherine Laboure,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">you show us where to find redeeming grace.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Lead us, in your spirit of faith, hope and love</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">to the altar of Eucharistic Celebration</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">as we receive your Jesus</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">and say "yes" to all He asks of us.</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Mary Immaculate, this beautiful chapel</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">was erected out of love for you</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">by the Fathers and Brothers</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">of the Congregation of the Mission,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">the Daughters of Charity.</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Dear Christ, You Who so fully completed Your mission, Who did so with such strength, and Who guided St. Catherine to do the same, send the Virgin Mary into our lives to guide as to our own missions. Send the Blessed Mother so that we may make use of every minute that we are on this earth. Send Your mother so that upon death we may be pleasing to You, dear Lord, and have the joy of knowing we accomplished what was assigned to us at birth.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Pray for us, St. Catherine, that we may have our eyes opened to the missions given us by our Creator, and that we may approach life in imitation of your quietness, servitude, and longsuffering. Please, Catherine, help us with a deeper devotion to the Virgin Mary and specifically to the Miraculous Medal. Ask that God grant yet greater graces in our lives as a result of this devotion, and let us too `see' the resplendent lights, the radiant grace, that Jesus gives through the hands of His most holy and Blessed Mother.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, conceived without sin, wash away our sins and pray for our humility, for our purity, and for the fulfillment of our life work for God the Father! Let us accept what is sent our way and realize God's hidden designs in all challenges and sufferings!</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Let us pray (response: pray for us):</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, conceived without sin,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, streaming grace,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, who steps on the serpent,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, who stands on the world,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, who grants small and great gifts,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, who helped save France,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">Oh Mary, of the Miraculous medal,</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: blue;">PRAY FOR US</span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">Act of Consecration to Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal</span></b></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">O Virgin Mother of God, Mary Immaculate, we dedicate and consecrate ourselves to thee under the title of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. May this medal be for each one of us a sure sign of thy affection for us and a constant reminder of our duties towards thee. Ever while wearing it, may we be blessed by thy loving protection and preserved in the grace of thy Son. O most powerful Virgin, Mother of Our Savior, keep us close to thee every moment of our lives. Obtain for us, thy children, the grace of a happy death; so that, in union with thee, we may enjoy the bliss of heaven forever. Amen.</span></div><div><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xf2EAbjzokk/USY84uNpyeI/AAAAAAAAO1Y/TUc0QTsPsrc/s1600/The+Incorrupt+Body+of+Catherine+Laboure.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xf2EAbjzokk/USY84uNpyeI/AAAAAAAAO1Y/TUc0QTsPsrc/s640/The+Incorrupt+Body+of+Catherine+Laboure.JPG" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/C_BDTRnedu394oRJztp79A" target="_blank">The incorrupt body of St. Catherine Laboure in the convent<br />&nbsp;chapel of Rue de Bac where miracles were reported in her tomb.</a></b></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><div style="text-align: center;">See also: <b><u><a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/2013/02/saint-catherine-laboure.html" target="_blank">The Incorrupt Body of&nbsp;<span style="text-align: justify;">Catherine&nbsp;Labouré</span></a></u></b></div></div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-73607178387088281022013-02-20T18:30:00.000+08:002013-02-22T10:39:53.851+08:00Our Lady of La Salette<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SgH_5jOflK0/USSlHfANp-I/AAAAAAAAO0E/Rs4zvbd1EWM/s1600/La+Salette+Apparition.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SgH_5jOflK0/USSlHfANp-I/AAAAAAAAO0E/Rs4zvbd1EWM/s400/La+Salette+Apparition.jpg" width="291" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On September 19, 1846, sixteen years after the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared in Rue du Bac, Paris, and twelve years before her appearances in Lourdes, Our Lady appeared to two young shepherds: Mélanie&nbsp;Calvat, aged 14 and Maximin Giraud, aged 11, at La Salette in the French Alps high up on the pasture above La Salette, a village near Corps. Weeping bitterly, Our Lady spoke to them first in French, then in their own dialect, about many things that upset her Son.<br /><br />Finally, before disappearing, Our Lady confided to each of the children a special secret and asked them to spread her message. Some parts of the secrets are given in a veiled manner, so that one cannot understand without faith nor without some time, effort and thought. These two secrets were sent by the children in 1851 to Pope Pius IX on the advice of Bishop de Bruillard.<br /><br />Below is the "<b><u><span style="color: blue;">Written Statement by Maximin Giraud on July 3rd, 1851</span></u></b>", quoted as follows:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">"<span style="color: blue;">On September 19, 1846, we saw a beautiful Lady. We never said that this lady was the Blessed Virgin but we always said that it was a beautiful Lady.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">I do not know if it is the Blessed Virgin or another person. As for me, I believe today that it is the Blessed Virgin. Here is what this Lady said to me</span>:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<span style="color: red;">If my people continue, what I will say to you will arrive earlier, if it changes a little, it will be a little later.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">France has corrupted the universe, one day it will be punished. The faith will die out in France: three quarters of France will not practice religion anymore, or almost no more, the other part will practice it without really practicing it. Then, after [that], nations will convert, the faith will be rekindled everywhere.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">A great country, now Protestant, in the north of Europe, will be converted; by the support of this country all the other nations of the world will be converted.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">Before all that arrives, great disorders will arrive, in the Church, and everywhere. Then, after [that], our Holy Father the Pope will be persecuted. His successor will be a pontiff that nobody expects.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">Then, after [that], a great peace will come, but it will not last a long time. A monster will come to disturb it.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: red;">All that I tell you here will arrive in the other century, at the latest in the year two thousand</span>."</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Maximin Giraud</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">(She told me to say it some time before.)</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">My Most Holy Father, your holy blessing to one of your sheep.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">Grenoble, July 3,1851</span>."</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Melanie’s secret is much longer and more detailed than Maximin’s secret. Melanie’s secret consists of 33 paragraphs and was published in its entirety in a brochure which she herself had printed in 1879 at Lecce, Italy, with the approval of the bishop of that town.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The story from which is quoted below, is a faithful reproduction without commentary of the original text of the <i>Message and Secret of La Salette</i>, November 15, 1879&nbsp;edition, approved by the Catholic Church, with the "<i>Imprimatur</i>" of Mgr. Bishop Zola of Lecce and reprinted "<i>ne varietur</i>" at Lyon in 1904, a few months before Mélanie's death in December 15.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">I&nbsp;</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">On the 18th of September (1846), the eve of the Holy Apparition of the Holy Virgin, I was alone, as usual, watching over my Master's cows. Around eleven o'clock in the morning, I saw a small boy walking towards me. &nbsp;I was frightened at this, for it seemed to me that everyone ought to know that I avoided all kinds of company. This boy came up to me and said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #b45f06;">Little girl, I’m coming with you, I'm from Corps too</span>”. At these words, the natural evil in me soon showed itself, and taking a few steps back, I told him: “<span style="color: blue;">I don't want anybody around. I want to be alone</span>.” But the boy followed me, saying: “<span style="color: #b45f06;">Go on, let me stay with you. My Master told me to come and watch over my cows together with yours. I'm from Corps</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I walked away from him, gesturing to him that I didn't want anybody around, and when I was some distance away, I sat down on the grass. There, I used to talk with the little flowers of the Good Lord.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A moment later, I looked behind me, and there I found Maximin sitting close to me. Straightway he says to me: &nbsp;“<span style="color: #b45f06;">Keep me with you. I'll be very good</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But the natural evil in me will not hear reason. &nbsp;I jump to my feet, and run a little farther off without saying a word and again I start playing with the little flowers of the Good Lord. In an instant, Maximin was there again, telling me he would be very good, that he wouldn't talk, that he would get bored all by himself, and that his Master had sent him to be with me, etc. This time, I took pity, I gestured to him to sit down, and I kept on playing with the little flowers of the Good Lord.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It wasn't long before Maximin broke the silence by bursting into laughter (I think he was making fun of me). I look at him and he says to me: “<span style="color: #b45f06;">Let's have some fun, let's make up a game</span>”. I said nothing in reply, for I was so ignorant I didn't understand what games with other people were, always having been alone. I played with the flowers, on my own, and Maximin came right up close to me, doing nothing but laughing, telling me the flowers didn’t have ears to listen to me and that we should play together instead. But I had no liking for the game he told me to play. I started talking to him, however, and he told me that the ten days he was to spend with his Master would soon be over and then he would go home to his father in Corps etc . . .&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">While he was talking, I heard the bell of La Salette, it was the Angelus. I gestured to Maximin to lift his soul up to God. He took off his hat and was silent for a moment. Then I said: “<span style="color: blue;">Do you want to have dinner?</span>” “<span style="color: #b45f06;">Yes</span>, he replied, <span style="color: #b45f06;">let's eat</span>.” We sat down and I brought out of my bag the provisions my Master had given me. As was my habit, before breaking into my little round loaf, I made a cross with the point of my knife on the bread, and a little hole in the middle, saying: “<span style="color: blue;">If the devil's in there, may he leave, and if the Good Lord is in there, may he stay!</span>” and I rapidly covered up the little hole. Maximin burst into laughter and kicked the loaf out of my hands. It rolled down the mountainside and was lost from sight. I had another piece of bread which we shared. Afterwards, we played a game. Then, realizing that Maximin must still be hungry, I pointed out a place on the mountainside covered with all kinds of berries. I urged him to go and eat some and he went straight away. He ate a few berries and brought back his hat full of them. In the evening we walked back down the mountain together and promised to come back the next day and watch over our cows together.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The next day, the 19th of September, I met Maximin on the way up. We climbed up the mountain side together. I discovered that Maximin was a very good, simple boy, and would willingly talk about what I wanted to talk about. He was also very flexible and had no fixed opinions. He was just a little curious, for, when I walked away from him, as soon as he saw I had stopped, he would run over to me to see what I was doing and hear what I was saying to the flowers of the Good Lord. And if he arrived too late, he would ask me what I had said.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maximin told me to teach him a game. &nbsp;It was already late morning. I told him to gather some flowers for the “<i>Paradise</i>”. We set to work together. Soon we had a number of flowers of various colours. I could hear the village Angelus ringing, for the weather was fine and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Having told the Good Lord what we had learned, I said to Maximin that we ought to drive our cows on to a small plateau near the gully, where there would be stones to build the “<i>Paradise</i>”. We drove our cows to the selected spot and then had a small meal. Then we started collecting stones to build our little house, which comprised of a so-called ground floor which was where we were to live, and then a story above which was to be, as we called it, “<i>Paradise</i>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This story was decorated all over with different-colored flowers, with garlands hanging from flower stalks. This “<i>Paradise</i>” was covered by a single large stone which we had strewn with flowers. We had also hung garlands all the way round. When we had finished, we sat and looked at the “<i>Paradise</i>”. We began to feel sleepy and having moved a couple of feet away, we went to sleep on the grass.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">II&nbsp;</span></b></div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">When I woke up I couldn't see the cows, so I called Maximin and climbed up the little mound. From there I could see our cows grazing peacefully and I was on my way down, with Maximin on his way up, when all at once I saw a beautiful light shining more brightly than the sun.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">Maximin, do you see what is over there? &nbsp;Oh! My God!</span>” At the same moment, I dropped the stick I was holding. Something inconceivably fantastic passed through me in that moment and I felt myself being drawn. I felt a great respect, full of love, and my heart beat faster.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I kept my eyes firmly fixed on this light, which was static, and as if it had opened up, I caught sight of another, much more brilliant light which was moving, and in this light I saw a most beautiful lady sitting on top of our Paradise, with her head in her hands.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This beautiful Lady stood up; she coolly crossed her arms while watching us, and said to us:&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Come, my children, fear not, I am here to <b>PROCLAIM GREAT NEWS TO YOU</b></span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">These soft and sweet words made me fly to her, and my heart desired to attach itself to her forever.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">When I was up close to the Beautiful Lady, in front of her to her right, she began to speak and from her beautiful eyes tears also started to flow.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="text-align: left;">“<span style="color: red;">If my people do not wish to submit themselves, I am forced to let go of the hand of my Son. It is so heavy and weighs me down so much I can no longer keep hold of it</span>.&nbsp;</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">I have suffered all of the time for the rest of you! If I do not wish my Son to abandon you, I must take it upon myself to pray for this continually. And the rest of you think little of this. In vain you will pray, in vain you will act, and you will never be able to make up for the trouble I have taken over for the rest of you</span>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">I gave you six days to work; I kept the seventh for myself, and no one wishes to grant it to me. This is what weighs down the arm of my Son so much</span>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Those who drive carts cannot speak without putting the name of my Son in the middle</span>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">These are the two things which weigh down the arm of my Son so much. If the harvest is spoiled, it is only because of the rest of you. I made you see this last year with the potatoes; you took little account of this. It was quite the opposite when you found bad potatoes, you swore oaths, and you included the name of my Son. They will continue to go bad, at Christmas there will be none left</span>.”</div></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point, I was trying to interpret the word “potatoes” (<i>pommes de terre</i>): I thought I understood it to be “apples” (<i>pommes</i>) <b><i><span style="color: red;">1</span></i></b>. The Beautiful and Good Lady, reading my thoughts, repeated thus:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">You do not understand, my children. I will tell it to you another way</span>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">If the harvest is spoiled, it does not seem to affect you. I made you see this last year with the potatoes. You took little account of this. It was quite the opposite when you found bad potatoes, you swore oaths, and you included the name of my Son. They will continue to go bad and at Christmas, there will be none left</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">If you have corn, you must not sow it. The beasts will eat all that you sow. And all that grows will fall to dust when you thresh it. A great famine will come. Before the famine comes, children under the age of seven will begin to tremble and will die in the arms of those who hold them. The others will do penance through hunger. The nuts will go bad, the grapes will become rotten</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At this point, the Beautiful Lady, who was entrancing me, for a moment did not make herself heard. I could see, however, that she was continuing, as if speaking, to move graciously her kindly lips. At this moment, Maximin was receiving his secret. Then, turning to me, the Most Holy Virgin spoke to me and gave me a secret in French. Here is this secret in its entirety as she gave it to me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">III</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Melanie, what I am about to tell you now will not always be a secret. You may make it public in 1858</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;“<span style="color: red;">The priests, ministers of my Son, the priests, by their wicked lives, by their irreverence and their impiety in the celebration of the holy mysteries, by their love of money, their love of honors and pleasures, and the priests have become cesspools of impurity. Yes, the priests are asking vengeance, and vengeance is hanging over their heads. Woe to the priests and to those dedicated to God who by their unfaithfulness and their wicked lives are crucifying my Son again! The sins of those dedicated to God cry out towards Heaven and call for vengeance, and now vengeance is at their door, for there is no one left to beg mercy and forgiveness for the people. There are no more generous souls; there is no one left worthy of offering a stainless sacrifice to the Eternal for the sake of the world</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">God will strike in an unprecedented way</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! God will exhaust His wrath upon them and no one will be able to escape so many afflictions together</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The chiefs, the leaders of the people of God have neglected prayer and penance, and the devil has bedimmed their intelligence. They have become wandering stars which the old devil will drag along with his tail to make them perish. God will allow the old serpent to cause divisions among those who reign in every society and in every family. Physical and moral agonies will be suffered. God will abandon mankind to itself and will send punishments which will follow one after the other for more than thirty-five years</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The Society of men is on the eve of the most terrible scourges and of gravest events. Mankind must expect to be ruled with an iron rod and to drink from the chalice of the wrath of God</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">May the curate of my Son, Pope Pius IX never leave Rome again after 1859; may he, however, be steadfast and noble, may he fight with the weapons of faith and love. I will be at his side. May he be on his guard against Napoleon: he is two-faced, and when he wishes to make himself Pope as well as Emperor, God will soon draw back from him. He is the master-mind who, always wanting to ascend further, will fall on the sword he wished to use to force his people to be raised up</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Italy will be punished for her ambition in wanting to shake off the yoke of the Lord of Lords. And so she will be left to fight a war; blood will flow on all sides. Churches will be locked up or desecrated. Priests and religious orders will be hunted down, and made to die a cruel death. Several will abandon the faith, and a great number of priests and members of religious orders will break away from the true religion; among these people there will even be bishops</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">May the Pope guard against the performers of miracles. For the time has come when the most astonishing wonders will take place on the earth and in the air</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">In the year 1864, Lucifer together with a large number of demons will be unloosed from hell; they will put an end to faith little by little, even in those dedicated to God. They will blind them in such a way, that, unless they are blessed with a special grace, these people will take on the spirit of these angels of hell; several religious institutions will lose all faith and will lose many souls</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Evil books will be abundant on earth and the spirits of darkness will spread everywhere a universal slackening of all that concerns the service of God. They will have great power over Nature: there will be churches built to serve these spirits. People will be transported from one place to another by these evil spirits, even priests, for they will not have been guided by the good spirit of the Gospel which is a spirit of humility, charity and zeal for the glory of God. On occasions, the dead and the righteous will be brought back to life. </span><span style="color: blue;">(<i>That is to say that these dead will take on the form of righteous souls which had lived on earth, in order to lead men further astray; these so-called resurrected dead, who will be nothing but the devil in this form, will preach another Gospel contrary to that of the true Christ Jesus, denying the existence of Heaven; that is also to say, the souls of the damned. All these souls will appear as if fixed to their bodies</i>)</span>. <b><i><span style="color: red;">2</span></i></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Everywhere there will be extraordinary wonders, as true faith has faded and false light brightens the people. Woe to the Princes of the Church who think only of piling riches upon riches to protect their authority and dominate with pride</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The Vicar of my Son will suffer a great deal, because for a while the Church will yield to large persecution, a time of darkness and the Church will witness a frightful crisis</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The true faith to the Lord having been forgotten, each individual will want to be on his own and be superior to people of same identity, they will abolish civil rights as well as ecclesiastical, all order and all justice would be trampled underfoot and only homicides, hate, jealousy, lies and dissension would be seen without love for country or family</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The Holy Father will suffer a great deal. I will be with him until the end and receive his sacrifice</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The mischievous would attempt his life several times to do harm and shorten his days but neither him nor his successor will see the triumph of the Church of God</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">All the civil governments will have one and the same plan, which will be to abolish and do away with every religious principal to make way for materialism, atheism, spiritualism and vice of all kinds</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">In the year 1865, there will be desecration of holy places. In convents, the flowers of the Church will decompose and the devil will make himself like the King of all hearts. May those in charge of religious communities be on their guard against the people they must receive, for the devil will resort to all his evil tricks to introduce sinners into religious orders, for disorder and the love of carnal pleasures will be spread all over the earth</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">France, Italy, Spain, and England will be at war. Blood will flow in the streets. Frenchman will fight Frenchman, Italian will fight Italian. A general war will follow which will be appalling. For a time, God will cease to remember France and Italy because the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been forgotten. The wicked will make use of all their evil ways. Men will kill each other; massacre each other even in their homes</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">At the first blow of His thundering sword, the mountains and all Nature will tremble in terror, for the disorders and crimes of men have pierced the vault of the heavens. Paris will burn and Marseilles will be engulfed. Several cities will be shaken down and swallowed up by earthquakes. People will believe that all is lost. Nothing will be seen but murder, nothing will be heard but the clash of arms and blasphemy</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The righteous will suffer greatly. Their prayers, their penances and their tears will rise up to Heaven and all of God’s people will beg for forgiveness and mercy and will plead for my help and intercession. And then Jesus Christ, in an act of His justice and His great mercy will command His Angels to have all His enemies put to death. Suddenly, the persecutors of the Church of Jesus Christ and all those given over to sin will perish and the earth will become desert-like. And then peace will be made, and man will be reconciled with God. Jesus Christ will be served, worshipped and glorified. Charity will flourish everywhere. The new kings will be the right arm of the holy Church, which will be strong, humble, and pious in its poor but fervent imitation of the virtues of Jesus Christ. The Gospel will be preached everywhere and mankind will make great progress in its faith, for there will be unity among the workers of Jesus Christ and man will live in fear of God</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">This peace among men will be short-lived. Twenty-five years of plentiful harvests will make them forget that the sins of men are the cause of all the troubles on this earth</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">A forerunner of the Antichrist, with his troops gathered from several nations, will fight against the true Christ, the only Saviour of the world. He will shed much blood and will want to annihilate the worship of God to make himself be looked upon as a God</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The earth will be struck by calamities of all kinds</span> <span style="color: blue;">(<i>in addition to plague and famine which will be wide-spread</i>).</span> <span style="color: red;">There will be a series of wars until the last war, which will then be fought by the ten Kings of the Antichrist, all of whom will have one and the same plan and will be the only rulers of the world. Before this comes to pass, there will be a kind of false peace in the world. People will think of nothing but amusement. The wicked will give themselves over to all kinds of sin. But the children of the holy Church, the children of my faith, my true followers, they will grow in their love for God and in all the virtues most precious to me. Blessed are the souls humbly guided by the Holy Spirit! I shall fight at their side until they reach a fullness of years</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Nature is asking for vengeance because of man, and she trembles with dread at what must happen to the earth stained with crime. Tremble, earth, and you who proclaim yourselves as serving Jesus Christ and who, on the inside, only adore yourselves, tremble, for God will hand you over to His enemy, because the holy places are in a state of corruption. Many convents are no longer houses of God, but the grazing-grounds of Asmodeas and his like. It will be during this time that the Antichrist will be born of a Hebrew nun, a false virgin who will communicate with the old serpent, the master of impurity, his father will be B. At birth, he will spew out blasphemy; he will have teeth, in a word; he will be the devil incarnate. He will scream horribly, he will perform wonders; he will feed on nothing but impurity. He will have brothers who, although not devils incarnate like him, will be children of evil. At the age of twelve, they will draw attention upon themselves by the gallant victories they will have won; soon they will each lead armies, aided by the legions of hell</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The seasons will be altered, the earth will produce nothing but bad fruit, the stars will lose their regular motion, and the moon will only reflect a faint reddish glow. Water and fire will give the earth's globe convulsions and terrible earthquakes which will swallow up mountains, cities, etc</span> . . .</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;"><u>Rome will lose the faith and become the seat of the Antichrist</u></span></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">The demons of the air together with the Antichrist will perform great wonders on earth and in the atmosphere, and men will become more and more perverted. God will take care of His faithful servants and men of good will. The Gospel will be preached everywhere, and all peoples of all nations will get to know the truth</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">I make an urgent appeal to the earth. I call on the true disciples of the living God who reigns in Heaven; I call on the true followers of Christ made man, the only true Saviour of men; I call on my children, the true faithful, those who have given themselves to me so that I may lead them to my divine Son, those whom I carry in my arms, so to speak, those who have lived on my spirit. Finally, I call on the Apostles of the Last Days, the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ who have lived in scorn for the world and for themselves, in poverty and in humility, in scorn and in silence, in prayer and in mortification, in chastity and in union with God, in suffering and unknown to the world. It is time they came out and filled the world with light. Go and reveal yourselves to be my cherished children. I am at your side and within you, provided that your faith is the light which shines upon you in these unhappy days. May your zeal make you famished for the glory and the honour of Jesus Christ. Fight, children of light, you, the few who can see. For now is the time of all times, the end of all ends</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;"><b><u>The Church will be in eclipse</u></b>, the world will be in dismay. But now Enoch and Eli will come, filled with the Spirit of God. They will preach with the might of God, and men of goodwill will believe in God, and many souls will be comforted. They will make great steps forward through the virtue of the Holy Spirit and will condemn the devilish lapses of the Antichrist. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! There will be bloody wars and famines, plagues and infectious diseases. It will rain with a fearful hail of animals. There will be thunderstorms which will shake cities, earthquakes which will swallow up countries. Voices will be heard in the air. Men will beat their heads against walls, call for their death, and on another side death will be their torment. Blood will flow on all sides. Who will be the victor if God does not shorten the length of the test? All the blood, the tears and prayers of the righteous, God will relent. Enoch and Eli will be put to death. Pagan Rome will disappear. The fire of Heaven will fall and consume three cities. All the universe will be struck with terror and many will let themselves be lead astray because they have not worshipped the true Christ who lives among them. It is time; the sun is darkening; only faith will survive</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Now is the time; the abyss is opening. Here is the King of Kings of darkness; here is the Beast with his subjects, calling himself the Saviour of the world. He will rise proudly into the air to go to Heaven. He will be smothered by the breath of the Archangel Saint Michael. He will fall, and the earth, which will have been in a continuous series of evolutions for three days, will open up its fiery bowels; and he will have plunged for all eternity with all his followers into the everlasting chasms of hell. And then water and fire will purge the earth and consume all the works of men's pride and all will be renewed. God will be served and glorified</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">IV</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then the Holy Virgin gave me, also in French, <span style="color: blue;">THE RULE OF A NEW RELIGIOUS ORDER</span>. When She had given me the Rule of this new religious Order, the Holy Virgin continued the speech in the same manner <b><i><span style="color: red;">3</span></i></b>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">If they convert, the stones and rocks will change into wheat, and potatoes will be found sown in the earth. Do you say your prayers properly, my children?</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We both replied: “<span style="color: blue;">Oh! no, Madame, not so much</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Oh! my children, you must say them morning and evening. When you can do no more, say a Pater and an Ave Maria; and when you have the time to do better, you will say more</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Only a few old women go to Mass; in the summer, the rest work all day Sunday and in the winter, when they are at a loose end, they only go to Mass to make fun of religion. During Lent, they go to the butcher's like hungry dogs</span>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">Have you ever seen any spoilt wheat, my children</span>?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">We both answered: “<span style="color: blue;">Oh no, Madame</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Holy Virgin turned to Maximin, saying:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">But you, my child, you must have seen some once near le ‘Coin’, with your father. The farmer said to your father: ‘Come and see how my wheat's gone bad!’ You went to see. Your father took two or three ears in his hand, rubbed them, and they fell to dust. Then, on your way back, when you were no more than half an hour away from Corps, your father gave you a piece of bread, and said: ‘Take it, eat it while you can, my son, for I don't know who will be eating anything next year if the wheat is spoiled like that</span>!’”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maximin replied: “<span style="color: blue;">It's quite true, Madame, I didn't remember</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Most Holy Virgin brought her speech to an end in French.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;"><b>AND SO, MY CHILDREN, YOU WILL PASS THIS ON TO ALL MY PEOPLE</b></span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The most beautiful Lady crossed the stream, and after two more steps, without turning back towards us, who were following Her (<i>for we were drawn to her by her brilliance and even more by her kindness which elated me, which seemed to melt my heart</i>), she repeated to us:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<b><span style="color: red;">AND SO, MY CHILDREN, YOU WILL PASS THIS ON TO ALL MY PEOPLE</span></b>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Then, She walked on up to the place where I had gone to see our cows. Her feet touched nothing but the tips of the grass and without bending them. Once on the top of the little mound, the beautiful Lady stopped, and I hurried to stand in front of Her to look at Her so, so closely, and try and see which path she was most inclined to take. For it was all over for me. I had forgotten both my cows and the masters I worked for. I had linked myself forever and unconditionally to my Lady. Yes, I wanted never, never to leave Her. I followed Her with no other motive and fully disposed to serve Her for the rest of my life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the presence of my Lady, I felt I had forgotten paradise. I thought of nothing more but to serve Her in every way possible; and I felt I could have done everything she could have asked me to do, for it seemed to me that She had a great deal of power. She looked at me with a tender kindness which drew me to Her. I could have thrown myself into Her arms with my eyes closed. She did not give me the time to do so. She rose imperceptibly from the ground to a height of around four feet or more; and, hanging thus in the air for a split second, my beautiful Lady looked up to Heaven, then down on the earth to her right and then her left&nbsp;<b><i><span style="color: red;">4</span></i></b>, then She looked at me with Her eyes so soft, so kind and so good that I felt She was drawing me inside Her, and my heart seemed to open up to Hers.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And as my heart melted away, sweetly gladdened, the beautiful face of my good Lady disappeared little by little. It seemed to me that the light in motion was growing stronger, or rather condensing around the Most Holy Virgin, to prevent me from seeing her any longer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And thus light took the place of the parts of Her body which were disappearing in front of my eyes; or rather it seemed to me that the body of my Lady was melting into light. Thus the sphere of light rose gently towards the right. I cannot say whether the volume of light decreased as She rose, or whether the growing distance made me see less and less light as She rose. What I do know, is that I was a long time with my head raised up, staring at the light, even after the light, which kept getting further away and decreasing in volume, had finally disappeared. I take my eyes from the firmament, I look around me.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;I see Maximin looking at me, and I say to him:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">Maxi, that must have been my father’s Good Lord, or the Holy Virgin, or some other great saint</span>”<b><i><span style="color: red;">5</span></i></b>.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And Maximin throws his arms into the air and says: “<span style="color: blue;">Oh! If only I'd known</span>!”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">V</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The evening of the 19th of September, we went back down a little earlier than usual. When I arrived at my master’s farm, I was busy tying up my cows and tidying up in the stable, and had not yet finished when my mistress came up to me in tears and said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: purple;">Why, my child, why didn't you come and tell me what happened on the mountain</span>?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Maximin, not having found his masters who were still at work, had come over to mine and recounted everything he had seen and heard. I replied:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">I did want to tell you, but I wanted to get my work finished first</span>.” A moment later, I walked over to the house and my mistress said to me:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: purple;">Tell me what you have seen. De Bruite, the shepherd</span> (<i>that was the nick name of Pierre Selme, Maximin's master</i>), <span style="color: purple;">has told me everything</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I began, and towards the middle of the account, my master arrived back from the fields. My mistress, who was in tears at hearing the complaints and threats of our sweet Mother, said: “<span style="color: purple;">Ah! &nbsp;You were going to harvest the wheat tomorrow</span> (<i>Sunday</i>). <span style="color: purple;">Take great care. Come and hear what happened today to this child and Pierre Selme's shepherd-boy</span>.” And turning to me, she said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: purple;">Repeat everything you have said</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I started again, and when I had finished, my master said:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #38761d;">It was the Holy Virgin or else a great saint, who has come on behalf of the Good Lord, but it’s as if the Good Lord had come Himself. We must do what this Saint said. How are you going to manage to tell that to all Her people</span>?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I replied:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">You tell me how I must go about it, and I will do it</span>.” Then, looking at his mother, wife, and brother, he added:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #38761d;">I'll have to think about that</span>”. Then everyone went back to their business.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After supper, Maximin and his masters came over to see my masters and to recount what Maximin had told them, and decide what was to be done.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #38761d;">For</span>”, they said, “<span style="color: #38761d;">it seems to us that it was the Holy Virgin sent by the Good Lord. The words which She spoke convince us of this. And she told them to pass it on to all of Her people. Perhaps these children will have to travel the world over to make it known that everyone must observe the commandments of the Good Lord, lest great misfortunes come upon us</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">After a moment's silence, my master said to Maximin and me:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #38761d;">Do you know what you must do, my children? Tomorrow, you must get up early and both of you go and see the priest and tell him everything you have seen and heard. Tell him carefully how it all happened. He will tell you what you have to do</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The 20th of September, the day after the Apparition, I left early in the morning with Maximin. When we reached the presbytery, I knocked at the door. The priest's housekeeper came and opened the door and asked us what we wanted. I said to her (<i><b>in French, and I, who had never spoken French</b></i>),</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">We would like to speak to Father Perrin</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #7f6000;">And what have you got to say to him</span>?” she asked.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">We wish to tell him, Miss, that yesterday we went up to watch over our cows on Baisses Mountain and after dinner, etc . . . etc.” We recounted a good piece of the Most Holy Virgin’s words. Then the church-bell rang: it was the final call for Mass. Father Perrin, the parish priest of La Salette, who had heard us, flung open his door; he was in tears and was beating his chest</span>. <span style="color: blue;">He said to us</span>:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #7f6000;">My children, we are lost, God will punish us. Oh! Good Lord! It was the Holy Virgin who appeared to you</span>!” And he left to say Holy Mass. We looked at each other, Maximin, the housekeeper, and I. Then Maximin said to me:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: #b45f06;">Me, I’m off home to my father in Corps</span>”, and we parted company.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">As my masters had not told me to return to work immediately after speaking to Father Perrin, I saw no harm in going to Mass. And so I was in church. Mass begins and after the first reading from the Gospel, Father Perrin turns to the congregation and tries to recount to his parishioners, the story of the Apparition which had just taken place, the day before, on one of their mountains, and he urges them to stop working on Sundays. His voice was broken with sobs, and all the congregation was greatly moved. After Holy Mass, I went back to my masters to work. Mr. Peytard, who still today is the mayor of La Salette came to question me on the Apparition, and when he had made sure that I was speaking the truth, he went away convinced.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I stayed on in the service of my masters until All Saint's Day. Then I was boarded with the nuns of Providence, in my home town of Corps.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: red;">VI</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Most Holy Virgin was tall and well-proportioned. She seemed so light that a mere breath could have stirred Her, yet She was motionless and perfectly balanced. Her face was majestic, imposing, but not imposing in the manner of the Lords here below. She compelled a respectful fear. At the same time as Her Majesty compelled respect mingled with love, She drew me to Her. Her gaze was soft and penetrating. Her eyes seemed to speak to mine, but the conversation came out of a deep and vivid feeling of love for this ravishing beauty who was liquefying me. The softness of Her gaze, Her air of incomprehensible goodness made me understand and feel that she was drawing me to Her and wanted to give Herself. It was an expression of love which cannot be expressed with the tongue of the flesh, nor with the letters of the alphabet.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The clothing of the Most Holy Virgin was silver white and quite brilliant. It was quite intangible. It was made up of light and glory, sparkling and dazzling. There is no expression nor comparison to be found on earth.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Holy Virgin was all beauty and all love; the sight of Her overwhelmed me. In her finery as in Her person, everything radiated the majesty, the splendour, the magnificence of a Queen beyond compare. She seemed as white, immaculate, crystallized, dazzling, heavenly, fresh and new as a Virgin. The word LOVE seemed to slip from Her pure and silvery lips. She appeared to me like a good Mother, full of kindness, amiability, of love for us, of compassion and mercy.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The crown of roses which She had placed on Her head was so beautiful, so brilliant, that it defies imagination. The different coloured roses were not of this earth; it was a joining together of flowers which crowned the head of the Most Holy Virgin. But the roses kept changing and replacing each other, and then, from the heart of each rose, there shone a beautiful entrancing light, which gave the roses a shimmering beauty. From the crown of roses there seemed to arise golden branches and a number of little flowers mingled with the shining ones. The whole thing formed a most beautiful diadem, which alone shone brighter than our earth's sun.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Holy Virgin had a most pretty cross hanging round Her neck. This cross seemed golden, (<i>I say golden rather than gold-plated, for I have sometimes seen objects which were golden with varying shades of gold, which had a much more beautiful effect on my eyes than simple gold-plate</i>). On this shining, beautiful cross, there was a Christ; it was Our Lord on the Cross. Near both ends of the cross there was a hammer, and at the other end, a pair of tongs. The Christ was skin-colored, but He shone dazzlingly; and the light shone forth from His holy body seemed like brightly shining darts which pierced my heart with the desire to melt inside Him. At times, the Christ appeared to be dead. His head was bent forward and His body seemed to give way, as if about to fall, had He not been held back by the nails which held him to the Cross.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I felt a deep compassion and would have liked to tell His unknown love to the whole world, and to let seep into mortal souls the most heartfelt love and gratitude towards a God who had no need whatsoever of us to be everything He is, was and always will be. And yet, O love that men cannot understand, He made Himself man, and wanted to die, yes, die, so as to better inscribe in our souls and in our memory, the passionate love He has for us! Oh, how wretched am I to find myself so poor in my expression of the love of our good Saviour for us! But, in another way, how happy we are to be able to feel more deeply that which we cannot express!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">At other times, the Christ appeared to be alive. His head was erect, His eyes open, and He seemed to be on the cross of His own accord. At times too, He appeared to speak: He seemed to show that He was on the cross for our sake, out of love for us, to draw us to His love, and that He always has more love to give us, that His love in the beginning and in the year 33 is always that of today and will be for ever more.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Holy Virgin was crying nearly the whole time she was speaking to me. Her tears flowed gently, one by one, down to her knees, then, like sparks of light, they disappeared. They were glittering and full of love. I would have liked to comfort Her and stop Her tears. But it seemed to me that She needed the tears to show better Her love forgotten by men. I would have liked to throw myself into Her arms and say to Her:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">My kind Mother, do not cry! I want to love you for all men on earth</span>.” But she seemed to be saying to me:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">There are so many who know me not!</span>”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I was in between life and death, and on one side, I saw so much desire by this Mother to be loved, and on another side, so much cold and indifference . . . Oh! My Mother, most beautiful and lovable Mother, my love, heart of my heart!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The tears of our sweet Mother, far from lessening her air of majesty, of a Queen and a Mistress, seemed, on the contrary, to embellish Her, to make Her more beautiful, more powerful, more filled with love, more maternal, more ravishing, and I could have wiped away Her tears which made my heart leap with compassion and love. To see a mother cry, and such a Mother, without doing everything possible to comfort her and change her grief to joy, is that possible? Oh! Mother, who is more than good; you have been formed with all the prerogatives God is able to make; you have married the power of God, so to speak; you are good, and more, you are good with the goodness of God Himself. God has extended Himself by making you His terrestrial and celestial masterpiece.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Most Holy Virgin had a yellow pinafore. What am I saying, yellow? She had a pinafore more brilliant than several suns put together. It was not a tangible material; it was composed of glory, and this glory was scintillating, and ravishingly beautiful. Everything in the Holy Virgin carried me firmly and made me kind of slide into the adoration and love of my Jesus in every state of His mortal life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The Most Holy Virgin had two chains, one a little wider than the other. From the narrower one, hung the cross which I mentioned earlier. These chains (<i>since they must be given the name of chains) were like rays of brightly shining glory, sparkling and dazzling. Her shoes (since they must be called shoes</i>) were white, but a silvery brilliant white. There were roses around them. These roses were dazzlingly beautiful, and from the heart of each rose there shone forth a flame of very beautiful and pleasing light. On Her shoes there was a buckle of gold, not the gold of this earth, but rather the gold of paradise.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The sight of the Holy Virgin was itself a perfect paradise. She had everything needed to satisfy, for earth had been forgotten. The Holy Virgin was surrounded by two lights. The first light, the nearer to the Most Holy Virgin, reached as far as us. It shone most beautifully and scintillatingly.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The second light shone out a little around the Beautiful Lady and we found ourselves bathed in it. It was motionless (<i>that is to say it wasn't scintillating</i>) but much more brilliant than our poor sun on earth. All this light did not harm nor tire the eyes in any way.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In addition to all these lights, all this splendour, there shone forth concentrations or beams of light and single rays of light from the body of the Holy Virgin, from her clothes and from all over Her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The voice of the Beautiful Lady was soft. It was enchanting, ravishing, warming to the heart. It satisfied, flattered every obstacle, it soothed and softened. It seemed to me I could never stop eating up Her beautiful voice and my heart seemed to dance or want to go towards Her and melt inside Her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The eyes of the most Holy Virgin, our Sweet Mother, cannot be described in human language. To speak of them, you would need a seraph, you would need more than that, you would need the language of God Himself, of the God who formed the immaculate Virgin, the masterpiece of His omnipotence. The eyes of the majestic Mary appeared thousands of times more beautiful than the rarest brilliants, diamonds and precious stones. They shone like two suns; they were soft, softness itself, as clear as a mirror. &nbsp;In her eyes, you could see paradise. They drew you to Her, She seemed to want to draw and give Herself.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The more I looked, the more I wanted to see; the more I saw, the more I loved Her and I loved Her with all my might.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The eyes of the beautiful Immaculate One were like the door to God's Kingdom, from which you could see all that can elate the soul. When my eyes met those of the Mother of God and of myself, I felt inside me a happy revolution of love and a declaration that I love Her and am melting with love. As we looked at each other, our eyes spoke to each other in their fashion, and I loved Her so much I could have kissed Her in the middle of Her eyes, which touched my soul and seemed to draw it towards them and make it melt into Hers. Her eyes set up a sweet trembling in all my being; and I was afraid to make the slightest movement which might cause her the smallest displeasure.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Just the sight of the eyes of the purest of Virgins would have been enough to make the Heaven of a blessed creature, enough to fill the soul with the will of the Most High amid the events which occurs in the course of mortal life, enough to make the soul perform continual acts of praise, of thanksgiving, of atonement and expiation. Just this sight focuses the soul on God, and makes it like a living-death, looking upon all the things of this earth, even the things which seem the most serious, as nothing but children's playthings. The soul would want to hear no one speaking unless they spoke of God, and of that which affects His Glory.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sin is the only evil She sees on earth. She will die of grief unless God sustains Her.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;Amen.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;MARIA OF THE CROSS, Victim of Jesus nee MELANIE CALVAT, Shepherdess of La Salette</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;Castellamare, 21st of November 1878.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“I anticipate with great pleasure the ‘Secret’ circulating at full extent; the more it spreads the more it will arouse salutary fear and numerous returns to God. Mary will bless those who help at the diffusion as she absolutely wants this passed on to all of the people. We are punished for having neglected this absolute order from the Mother of God.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;Extract from a letter of Melanie relating to the Secret of La Salette.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">________________________________________________________________</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">1. Neither Melanie nor Maximin understood French. The Beautiful Lady now continues her speech in “patois”.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">2. In a letter to Father Combe, dated October 7th, 1899, Melanie corrects these words in parenthesis which are her own, she says, and which she judges to be unclear and inaccurate. “That is to say”, she writes, “that in those days, which only seem like twenty years ago, some perverted people (Italian: malvages) had given themselves over to devotion to the demon of magic. These people would cause to appear in the eyes of the curious, acquainted and theirs who had not led a Christian way of life.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“These supposedly resurrected individuals appeared in heavenly glory. People known to have lived in the fear of God appeared to be in horrible suffering, and urged their friends and acquaintances not to follow in their footsteps, and they preached a Gospel opposed to that of Our Lord Jesus Christ. It seems that these bizarre occurrences may be put down to the fashion for spiritualistic evocations and for certain spiritualistic and demoniac practices which no doubt will one day be brought to light through a thorough examination of the Luciferian archives of FreeMasonry.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;In the same letter, Melanie takes care to explain that where it is said that people will be transported from one place to another, it must be understood as to be in rare cases only.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;3. In patois.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;4. “In which direction had the Holy Virgin turned when she rose?”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;- “That way (<i>she pointed to the East</i>) . . . I know that Rome is in that direction.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;(<i>Conversation with Melanie, Miss des Brulais, 8th Sept. 1849</i>.)</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;5. “My Father's Good Lord: this is the Crucifix, this living crucifix which the beautiful Lady wears round Her neck, and which seemed to talk to Her. The Holy Virgin . . .” Melanie does not seem to have doubted for a moment that it was Her, this comes out in the account, however, she does not dare to be the first to state it: it is for the Church of Jesus Christ to do so, she has this intuition. In effect, the next morning, it is the parish priest of La Salette who cries out, at the account of the two children:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“It was the Holy Virgin who appeared to you”, and from the pulpit, will announce this to his parishioners, and to all the faithful ones among them.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;6. Today: 21st of November 1878, when this account was written.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">_______________________________________________________________</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Additional words of Melanie:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“The great chastisement will come, because men will not be converted; yet it is only their conversion that can hinder these scourges. God will begin to strike men by inflicting lighter punishments in order to open their eyes; then He will stop, or may repeat His former warnings to give place for repentance. But sinners will not avail themselves of these opportunities; He will, in consequence, send more severe castigation, anxious to move sinners to repentance, but all in vain. Finally, the obduracy of sinners shall draw upon their heads the greatest and most terrible calamities.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“We are all guilty! Penance is not done, and sin increases daily. Those who should come forward to do good are retained by fear. Evil is great. A moderate punishment serves only to irritate the spirits, because they view all things with human eyes. God could work a miracle to convert and change the aspect of the earth without chastisement. God will work a miracle; it will be a stroke of His mercy; but after the wicked shall have inebriated themselves with blood, the scourge shall arrive.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; “What countries shall be preserved from such calamities? Where shall we go for refuge? I, in my turn, shall ask, What is the country that observes the commandments of God? What country is not influenced by human fear where the interest of the Church and the glory of God are at stake? (Ah, indeed! What country, what nation upon earth?) In behalf of my Superior and myself, I have often asked myself where we could go for refuge, had we the means for the journey and for our subsistence, on condition that no person were to know it? But I renounce these useless thoughts. We are very guilty! In consequence of this, it is necessary that a very great and terrible scourge should come to revive our faith, and to restore to us our very reason, which we have almost entirely lost. Wicked men are devoured by a thirst for exercising their cruelty; but when they shall have reached the uttermost point of barbarity, God Himself shall extend His hand to stop them, and very soon after, a complete change shall be effected in all surviving persons. &nbsp;Then they will sing the Te Deum Laudamus with the most lively gratitude and love. The Virgin Mary, our Mother, shall be our liberatrix. Peace shall reign, and the charity of Jesus Christ shall unite all hearts . . . Let us pray; let us pray. God does not wish to chastise us severely. He speaks to us in so many, so many ways to make us return to Him. How long shall we remain stubborn? Let us pray, let us pray; let us never cease praying and doing penance. Let us pray for our Holy Father the Pope, the only light for the faithful in these times of darkness. O yes, let us by all means prays much. Let us pray to good, sweet, merciful Virgin Mary; for we stand in great need of her powerful hands over our heads.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Words of Maximin:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;“In this time the Antichrist will be born of a nun of Hebraic descent, a false virgin, who will have intercourse with the ancient serpent, with the master of impurity and putrefaction. His father will be a bishop. He will perform false miracles and subsist only on vitiating faith. He will have brethren, who will be children of evil but not incarnate devils like himself. Soon they will be at the head of armies, supported by the legions of hell.”<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;">************</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><br /></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;">In the reprinted "<i>ne varietur</i>" at Lyon in 1904, which was published a few months before Mélanie's death in December 15, the editor of said reprint, Abbé Combe, adds the following note after this paragraph:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<span style="color: blue;">I have from Melanie that the Church will be eclipsed in this sense, that 1) one will not know which is the true pope; 2) for a time: the holy Sacrifice will cease to be offered in churches, and also in houses: so there will be no more public worship. But she saw that yet the holy Sacrifice would not cease: it would be offered in caves, in tunnels, in barns and in alcoves</span>." in reference to the message of Our Lady:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">"<span style="color: red;">The Church will be eclipsed, the world will be in consternation. But behold Enoch and Elie filled with the Spirit of God; they will preach with the strength of God, and men of good will will believe in God, and many souls will be consoled; they will make great progress by the virtue of the Holy Spirit and will condemn the devilish errors of the antichrist</span>."</div></div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-62171016090611351962013-02-19T19:12:00.000+08:002013-02-19T19:12:08.497+08:00Believe Dogma As It Was Once Declared<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBn9ERqiZQ8/USNXMCfEyeI/AAAAAAAAOy8/zEPR6ZT6rnw/s1600/Catholic+Dogma.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fBn9ERqiZQ8/USNXMCfEyeI/AAAAAAAAOy8/zEPR6ZT6rnw/s640/Catholic+Dogma.png" width="492" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <u><b><span style="color: red;">third</span></b></u> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/" target="_blank">Most Holy Family Monastery</a>, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;<b><span style="color: blue;">3. &nbsp;<u>Believe Dogma As It Was Once Declared</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>There is only one way to believe dogma: as holy mother Church has once declared.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>First Vatican Council</i>, Sess. 3, Chap. 2 on Revelation, 1870, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">Hence, also, that understanding of its sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which Holy Mother Church <u><b>has once declared</b></u>; and there must never be a <u><b>recession</b></u> from that meaning under the specious name of a deeper understanding</span>.”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">This definition of the First Vatican Council is critically important for dogmatic purity, because the primary way the Devil attempts to corrupt Christ’s doctrines is by getting men to <u><b><span style="color: red;">recede</span></b></u> (<i>move away</i>) from the Church’s dogmas as they were once declared. There is no meaning of a dogma other than what the <b><span style="color: red;">words themselves state and declare</span></b>, so the Devil tries to get men to “<i>understand</i>” and “<i>interpret</i>” these words in a way that is different from how holy mother Church has declared them. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Many of us have dealt with people who have attempted to explain away the clear meaning of the definitions on Outside the Church There is No Salvation by saying, “you must <u><i><span style="color: red;"><b>understand</b></span></i></u> them.” &nbsp;What they really mean is that you must understand them in a way <b><i><span style="color: red;">different from what the words themselves state and declare</span></i></b>. And this is precisely what the First Vatican Council <b><i><u><span style="color: red;">condemns</span></u></i></b>. It condemns their moving away from the understanding of a dogma which holy mother Church has once declared to a different meaning, under the specious (<i>false</i>) name of a “<i>deeper understanding</i>.”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Besides those who argue that we must “<i>understand</i>” dogmas in a different way than what the words themselves state and declare, there are those who, when presented with the dogmatic definitions on Outside the Church There is No Salvation, say, “<i>that is your interpretation</i>.” They belittle the words of a dogmatic formula to nothing other than one’s private interpretation. And this also is heresy.</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X, <i>Lamentabile</i>, The Errors of the Modernists, July 3, 1907, #22: “<b><span style="color: red;">The dogmas which the Church professes as revealed are not truths fallen from heaven, but they are a kind of interpretation</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> of religious facts, which the human mind by a laborious effort prepared for itself</span>.”- <b><u><span style="color: red;">Condemned</span></u></b></div>&nbsp;<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X, <i>Lamentabile</i>, The Errors of the Modernists, July 3, 1907, #54: “<b><span style="color: red;">The dogmas</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, the sacraments, the hierarchy, </span><b><span style="color: red;">as far as pertains both to the notion and to the reality, are nothing but interpretations</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> and the evolution of Christian intelligence, which have increased and perfected the little germ latent in the Gospel</span>.”- <b><u><span style="color: red;">Condemned</span></u></b></div>&nbsp;<br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Dogmas of the faith, like Outside the Church There is No Salvation, <span style="color: red;"><b>are truths fallen from heaven</b></span>; they are not interpretations. To accuse one who adheres faithfully to these truths fallen from heaven of engaging in “<i>private interpretation</i>” is to speak heresy. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The very point of a dogmatic DEFINITION is to DEFINE precisely and exactly what the Church means by the very words of the formula. If it does not do this by those very words <b><i><span style="color: red;">in the formula or document</span></i></b> (<i>as the Modernists say</i>) then it has failed in its primary purpose – to define – and was pointless and worthless. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Anyone who says that we must <b><u><span style="color: red;">interpret or understand</span></u></b> the meaning of a dogmatic definition, in a way which contradicts its actual wording, is denying the whole point of the Chair of Peter, Papal Infallibility and dogmatic definitions. He is asserting that dogmatic definitions are pointless, worthless and foolish and that the Church is pointless, worthless and foolish for making such a definition. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Also, those who insist that <b><u><span style="color: red;">infallible</span></u></b> DEFINITIONS must be interpreted by <b><u><span style="color: red;">non-infallible</span></u></b> statements (<i>e.g., from theologians, catechisms, etc</i>.) are denying the whole purpose of the Chair of Peter. They are subordinating the dogmatic teaching of the Chair of Peter (<i>truths from heaven</i>) to the re-evaluation of fallible human documents, thereby inverting their authority, perverting their integrity and denying their purpose. &nbsp;&nbsp;</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Gregory XVI, <i>Mirari Vos</i> (#7), Aug. 15, 1832: “. . . <span style="color: blue;">nothing of the things appointed ought to be diminished; nothing changed; nothing added; </span><b><span style="color: red;">but they must be preserved both as regards expression and meaning</span></b>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Thus, there is no “<i>strict</i>” or “<i>loose</i>” interpretation of Outside the Church There is No Salvation, as the liberal heretics like to emphasize; there is only what the Church <b><u><span style="color: red;">has once declared</span></u></b>.</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-71508102549076498362013-02-19T16:17:00.000+08:002013-02-19T17:15:11.218+08:00The Keys of St. Peter and His Unfailing Faith<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8kynLDxjMI/USMg03qL1xI/AAAAAAAAOyY/p8I4BdaxiyA/s1600/Keys+of+St.+Peter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_8kynLDxjMI/USMg03qL1xI/AAAAAAAAOyY/p8I4BdaxiyA/s640/Keys+of+St.+Peter.jpg" width="425" /></a></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the <b><span style="color: red;"><u>second</u></span></b> part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/" target="_blank">Most Holy Family Monastery</a>, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><span style="color: blue;">2. <u>The Keys of St. Peter and His Unfailing Faith&nbsp;</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">It is a fact of history, scripture and tradition that Our Lord Jesus Christ founded His universal Church (<i>the Catholic Church</i>) upon St. Peter.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 16:18‐19</b> ‐“<span style="color: blue;">And I say to thee: </span><b><span style="color: red;">That thou art Peter: and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven</span></b><span style="color: blue;">. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Our Lord made St. Peter the first pope, entrusted to him His entire flock, and gave him supreme authority in the universal Church of Christ.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>John 21:15‐17</b> ‐“<b><span style="color: red;">Jesus saith to Simon Peter</span></b><span style="color: blue;">: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. </span><b><span style="color: red;">He saith to him: <u>Feed my lambs</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. He saith to him again: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? He saith to him: Yea, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. </span><b><span style="color: red;">He saith to him: <u>Feed my lambs</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. He saith to him a third time: Simon, son of John, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved, because he had said to him the third time: Lovest thou me? And he said to him: Lord, thou knowest all things: thou knowest that I love thee. </span><b><span style="color: red;">He said to him: <u>Feed my sheep</u></span></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And with the supreme authority that Our Lord Jesus Christ conferred upon St. Peter (<i>and his successors, the popes</i>) comes what is called Papal Infallibility. Papal Infallibility is inseparable from Papal Supremacy – there was no point for Christ to make St. Peter the head of His Church (<i>as Christ clearly did</i>) if St. Peter or his successors, the popes, could err <b><span style="color: red;"><u>when exercising that supreme authority to teach on a point of Faith</u></span></b>. The supreme authority must be unfailing on binding matters of Faith and morals or else it is no true authority from Christ at all.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Papal Infallibility does not mean that a pope cannot err at all and it does not mean that a pope cannot lose his soul and be damned in Hell for grave sin. It means that the successors of St. Peter (<i>the popes of the Catholic Church</i>) cannot err <b><span style="color: red;"><u>when authoritatively teaching on a point of Faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ</u></span></b>. We find the promise of the unfailing faith for St. Peter and his successors referred to by Christ in <b>Luke 22</b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b><br /></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Luke 22:31‐32</b> ‐ “<span style="color: blue;">And the Lord said: Simon, Simon, behold Satan hath desired to have all of you, that he may sift you as wheat: </span><b><span style="color: red;">But I have prayed for thee, <u>that thy faith fail not</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Satan desired to sift all the Apostles (<i>plural</i>) like wheat, but Jesus prayed for Simon Peter (<i>singular</i>), that his <b><u><span style="color: red;">faith fail not</span></u></b>. Jesus is saying that St. Peter and his successors (<i>the popes of the Catholic Church</i>) have an unfailing faith when authoritatively teaching a point of faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Vatican Council I</i>, 1870, <i><b><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></b></i>: “<span style="color: red;"><u><b>SO, THIS GIFT OF TRUTH AND A NEVER FAILING FAITH WAS DIVINELY CONFERRED UPON PETER AND HIS SUCCESSORS IN THIS CHAIR</b></u></span> . . .”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Vatican Council I</i>, 1870, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “. . . <span style="color: red;"><u><b>the See of St. Peter always remains unimpaired by any error</b></u>, according to the divine promise of our Lord the Savior made to the chief of His disciples: ‘<u><b>I have prayed for thee [Peter], that thy faith fail not</b></u></span> . . .’”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">And this truth has been held since the earliest times in the Catholic Church.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Gelasius I, epistle 42, or <i>Decretal de recipiendis et non recipiendis libris</i>, 495: “<span style="color: blue;">Accordingly, </span><b><span style="color: red;">the see of Peter</span></b><span style="color: blue;"> the Apostle of the Church of Rome is first, </span><i><b><span style="color: red;">having neither spot, nor wrinkle, nor anything of this kind</span></b></i><span style="color: blue;"> (Eph. 5:27)</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The word “infallible” actually means “cannot fail” or “unfailing.” Therefore, the very term <i><b>Papal Infallibility</b></i> comes directly from Christ’s promise to St. Peter (<i>and his successors</i>) in Luke 22, that Peter has an unfailing Faith. Though this truth was believed since the beginning of the Church, it was specifically defined as a dogma at the First Vatican Council in 1870.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Vatican Council I</i>, 1870, Session 4, Chap. 4: “. . . <span style="color: blue;">the Roman Pontiff, when he speaks </span><i><span style="color: red;"><b>ex cathedra</b></span></i><span style="color: blue;"> [from the Chair of Peter], that is, when carrying out the duty of the pastor and teacher of all Christians in accord with his supreme apostolic authority he explains a doctrine of faith or morals to be held by the universal Church . . . </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">operates with that infallibility</span></i></b><span style="color: blue;"> with which the divine Redeemer wished that His Church be instructed in defining doctrine on faith and morals; </span><b><i><span style="color: red;">and so such definitions of the Roman Pontiff from himself, but not from the consensus of the Church, are unalterable</span></i></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">But how does one know when a pope is exercising his unfailing Faith to infallibly teach from the Chair of St. Peter? &nbsp;The answer is that we know from the language that the pope uses or the manner in which the pope teaches. Vatican I defined two requirements which must be fulfilled: 1) when the pope is carrying out his duty as pastor and teacher of all Christians<span style="color: red;"> <u><b>in accord with his supreme apostolic authority</b></u></span>; 2) when he explains a doctrine on faith or morals to be held by the entire Church of Christ. A pope can fulfill both of these requirements in just one line, by anathematizing a false opinion (such as many dogmatic councils) or by saying “<i><b>By our apostolic authority we declare</b>&nbsp;</i>. . .” or by saying “<i><b>We believe, profess, and teach</b></i>” or by using words of similar importance and meaning, which indicate that the pope is teaching the whole Church on Faith in a definitive and binding fashion.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">So, when a pope teaches from the Chair of Peter in the manner stipulated above he cannot be wrong. If he could be wrong, then the Church of Christ could be officially led into error, and Christ’s promise to St. Peter and His Church would fail (which is impossible). That which is taught from the Chair of Peter by the popes of the Catholic Church is the teaching of Jesus Christ Himself. To reject that which is taught by the popes from the Chair of Peter is simply to despise Jesus Christ Himself.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Luke 10:16</b> ‐ “<span style="color: blue;">He that heareth you, heareth me: and he that despiseth you despiseth me</span> . . .”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Matthew 18:17</b> ‐“<span style="color: blue;">And if he will not hear the church, let him be to thee as the heathen and publican.</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Satis Cognitum</i>, 1896:12 “. . . <span style="color: blue;">Christ instituted a living, authoritative and permanent Magisterium . . . </span><b><span style="color: red;">If it could in any way be false, an evident contradiction follows; for then God Himself would be the author of error in man</span></b>.”</div><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="color: blue;"><u>THE CHAIR OF PETER SPEAKS THE TRUTH THAT CHRIST HIMSELF DELIVERED</u></span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The truths of faith which have been proclaimed by the popes speaking infallibly from the Chair of Peter are called dogmas. The dogmas make up what is called the deposit of Faith. And the deposit of Faith ended with the death of the last apostle.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope St. Pius X, <i>Lamentabile</i>, The Errors of the Modernists #21: “<span style="color: red;"><b><u>Revelation</u></b></span><span style="color: blue;">, constituting the object of Catholic faith,</span><span style="color: red;"> <u><b>was not completed with the apostles</b></u></span>.” ‐ <b><span style="color: red;">Condemned&nbsp;</span></b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">This means that when a pope defines a dogma from the Chair of Peter he does not <b><span style="color: red;"><u>make</u></span> </b>the dogma true, but rather he proclaims what is already true, what has <b><span style="color: red;"><u>already been revealed by Christ and delivered to the Apostles</u></span></b>. The dogmas are therefore unchangeable, of course. One of these dogmas in the deposit of Faith is that Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation. Since this is the teaching of Jesus Christ, one is not allowed to dispute this dogma or to question it; one must simply accept it. It does not matter if one doesn’t like the dogma, doesn’t understand the dogma, or doesn’t see justice in the dogma. If one doesn’t accept it as infallibly true then one simply does not accept Jesus Christ, because the dogma comes to us from Jesus Christ.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Satis Cognitum</i> (# 9), June 29, 1896: “. . . <b><span style="color: red;">can it be lawful for anyone to reject any one of those truths without by that very fact falling into heresy? – without separating himself from the Church? – without repudiating in one sweeping act the whole of Christian teaching</span></b><span style="color: blue;">? For such is the nature of faith that nothing can be more absurd than to accept some things and reject others. </span><b><span style="color: red;">Faith</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, as the Church teaches, </span><b><span style="color: red;"><u>is that supernatural virtue by which . . . we believe what He has revealed to be true, not on account of the intrinsic truth perceived by the natural light of human reason [author: that is, not because it seems correct to us], but because of the authority of God Himself, the Revealer, who can neither deceive nor be deceived</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;"> . . . But he who dissents even in one point from divinely revealed truth absolutely rejects all faith, since he thereby refuses to honor God as the supreme truth and the </span><i><span style="color: red;">formal motive of faith</span></i>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Those who refuse to believe in the dogma Outside the Church There is No Salvation until they understand how there is justice in it <b><span style="color: red;"><u>are simply withholding their Faith in Christ’s revelation</u></span></b>. Those with the true Faith in Christ (<i>and His Church</i>) accept His teaching first and understand the truth in it (<i>i.e., why it is true</i>) second. A Catholic does not withhold his belief in Christ’s revelation until he can understand it. That is the mentality of a faithless heretic who possesses insufferable pride. St. Anselm sums up the true Catholic outlook on this point.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">St. Anselm, Doctor of the Church, <i>Prosologion</i>, Chap. 1: “<b><span style="color: red;">For I do not seek to understand that I may believe, but <u>I believe in order to understand</u></span></b><span style="color: blue;">. For this also I believe, that </span><b><span style="color: red;">unless I believed, I should not understand</span></b>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Romans 11:33‐34</b> ‐ “<b><span style="color: red;">O the depth of the riches of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments, and how unsearchable his ways!</span></b><span style="color: blue;">&nbsp;For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counselor? Or who hath first given to him, and recompense shall be made him</span>?”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>Isaias 55:8‐9</b> ‐ “<b><span style="color: red;">For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, saith the Lord. </span><b><span style="color: red;">For as the heavens are exalted above the earth</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts</span>.”</div><br /></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-13085620468774654712013-02-19T14:37:00.000+08:002013-02-19T17:14:51.653+08:00The Chair of St. Peter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mIhS0jExIaw/USMO6uFXwSI/AAAAAAAAOxc/wxQGjIi1cAc/s1600/Outside+the+Catholic+Church+There+is+No+Salvation.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-mIhS0jExIaw/USMO6uFXwSI/AAAAAAAAOxc/wxQGjIi1cAc/s400/Outside+the+Catholic+Church+There+is+No+Salvation.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is the first part of a series of articles taken from the book, "Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation" which is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B of the <a href="http://www.mostholyfamilymonastery.com/" target="_blank">Most Holy Family Monastery</a>, to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The readers are encouraged to click on this link: [<a href="http://infallible-catholic.blogspot.com/search/label/Outside%20the%20Catholic%20Church%20There%20is%20Absolutely%20No%20Salvation" target="_blank">Outside the Catholic Church There is Absolutely No Salvation</a>] for the entire document contained in this blog.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><b>INTRODUCTION</b></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The dogma Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation and the necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism can actually be covered in <u>one page</u> (see section 1 and section 8). This is because this truth is exactly the same as defined by our first pope:</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;"><i>. . . the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ . . . <b>Nor is there salvation in any other</b>. For there is no other name, under heaven, given to men, whereby we must be saved</i></span>.” (<i>Acts 4:12</i>).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">There is no salvation outside of Jesus Christ, and the Catholic Church is His Mystical Body. Since there is no entering into the Catholic Church of Christ without the Sacrament of Baptism, this means that only baptized Catholics who die in the state of grace (and those who become baptized Catholics and die in the state of grace) can hope to be saved – <i>period</i>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: red;">If anyone abideth not in me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth</span>.” (<i>John </i>15:6)&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The only reason that this document that you are looking at is approximately 300 pages long, and delves into a variety of issues in great detail, is simply because of <b><span style="color: blue;">the almost unceasing attacks against – and almost universal denial of – these otherwise simply expressed truths in our day</span></b>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reader will notice that I’ve gone out of my way to answer every single significant objection raised against the true meaning of Outside the Church There is No Salvation and the necessity of the Sacrament of Baptism, while the people who write books and articles against these truths almost never address any of the arguments from the teaching of the Church that we bring forward, simply because they cannot refute the facts.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Some of the liberals who read this document will also make the objection that it is “bitter” or “uncharitable.” But this is not true. The “foundation of charity is <u>faith pure and undefiled</u>” (Pope Pius XI, <i>Mortalium Animos</i>, #9). The statements in this document relating to Outside the Church There is No Salvation are made out of a desire to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His truth. &nbsp;A Catholic tells his neighbor the truth on this issue without compromise simply because he loves his neighbor.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius XI, <i>Mortalium Animos</i> #9, Jan. 6, 1928: “<span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">Everyone knows that John himself, </span><span style="color: red;"><b><u>the Apostle of love</u></b></span><span style="color: blue; font-weight: bold;">, who seems to reveal in his Gospel the secrets of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and who never ceased to impress on the memories of his followers the new commandment ‘Love one another,’ </span><span style="color: red;"><b><u>altogether forbade any intercourse with those who professed a mutilated and corrupt form of Christ’s teaching</u></b></span><span style="color: blue;">: ‘If any man come to you and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into the house nor say to him: God speed you’ </span>(II <i>John </i>10).”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A Catholic who refuses to denounce heresy and heretics (when necessary) is not acting charitably, but uncharitably.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo XIII, <i>Sapientiae Christianae</i> #14, Jan. 10, 1890: “<span style="color: blue;">St. Thomas maintains: ‘</span><u><b><span style="color: red;">Each one is under obligation to show forth his faith, either to instruct and encourage others of the faithful, or to repel the attacks of unbelievers</span></b></u><span style="color: blue;">.’ To recoil before an enemy, or to keep silence when from all sides such clamors are raised against truth, is the part of a man either devoid of character or who entertains doubt as to the truth of what he professes to believe</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reader will also notice that each numbered section of this document was intended to be, for the most part, complete in itself; that is to say, one can read an individual section of this document and find the relevant citations from the teaching of the Church re‐quoted for him without having to find them in a different part of the document.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">I strongly encourage the reader to read the entire document, because the subjects dealt with in this document are all important; but, in my opinion, the most important sections of this document that the reader definitely does not want to miss are: 1‐ 4, 6‐8, 13‐16, 18, 21, 24‐27, 31‐ 34.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The reader will see that the conclusions that are formed in this document are formed on the basis of the infallible teaching of the Chair of St. Peter. Those who reject these facts, therefore, are not simply rejecting my opinions; they are rejecting the teaching of the Chair of St. Peter (the dogmatic teachings of the Catholic Church).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Gregory XVI, <i>Mirari Vos</i> (# 13), Aug. 15, 1832: “<span style="color: blue;">With the admonition of the apostle that ‘there is one God, one faith, one baptism’ (Eph. 4:5) may those fear who contrive the notion that the safe harbor of salvation is open to persons of any religion whatever. &nbsp;They should consider the testimony of Christ Himself that ‘those who are not with Christ are against Him,’ (Lk. 11:23) and that they disperse unhappily </span><u style="color: blue;">who do not gather with Him</u><span style="color: blue;">.</span><b><span style="color: red;"> Therefore, ‘without a doubt, they will perish forever, unless they hold the Catholic faith whole and inviolate</span></b>” (<i>Athanasian Creed</i>).</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div>‐Bro. Peter Dimond, O.S.B. (May 3, 2004),<br /><b>2nd edition</b> (Oct. 30, 2006)<br /><div><br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><b><span style="color: blue;">1. <u>The Chair of St. Peter on Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation</u></span></b><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">The following statements on Outside the Catholic Church There is No Salvation are from the highest teaching authority of the Catholic Church. &nbsp;They are <b><i><span style="color: red;"><u>ex cathedra</u></span></i></b> Papal decrees (<i>decrees from the Chair of St. Peter</i>). Therefore, they constitute the teaching given to the Catholic Church by Jesus Christ and the Apostles. &nbsp;Such teachings are unchangeable and are classified as part of the solemn magisterium (<i>the extraordinary teaching authority of the Catholic Church</i>).&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Innocent III, <i>Fourth Lateran Council</i>, Constitution 1, 1215, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>There is indeed one universal Church of the faithful, outside of which nobody at all is saved, </b>in which Jesus Christ is both priest and sacrifice</span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Boniface VIII, <i>Unam Sanctam</i>, Nov. 18, 1302, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">With Faith urging us we are forced to believe and to hold the one, holy, Catholic Church and that, apostolic, and we firmly believe and simply confess <b>this Church outside of which there is no salvation nor remission of sin . . . Furthermore, we declare, say, define, and proclaim to every human creature that they by absolute necessity for salvation are entirely subject to the Roman Pontiff</b></span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Clement V, <i>Council of Vienne</i>, Decree # 30, 1311‐1312, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">Since however there is for both regulars and seculars, for superiors and subjects, for exempt and non‐exempt, <b><i>one universal Church, outside of which there is no salvation</i></b>, for all of whom there is <i>one Lord, one faith, and one baptism</i> . . .</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, Sess. 8, Nov. 22, 1439, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>Whoever </b><i>wishes </i><b>to be saved, needs above all to hold the Catholic faith; unless each one preserves this whole and inviolate, he will without a doubt perish in eterni</b></span><span style="color: red;"><b>ty</b></span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Eugene IV, <i>Council of Florence</i>, “Cantate Domino,” 1441, <i><b><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></b></i>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>The Holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes and preaches that all those who are outside the Catholic Church, not only pagans but also Jews or heretics and schismatics, cannot share in eternal life and will go into the everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his angels, unless they are joined to the Church before the end of their lives</b>; that the unity of this ecclesiastical body is of such importance that only for those who abide in it do the Church’s sacraments contribute to salvation and do fasts, almsgiving and other works of piety and practices of the Christian militia produce eternal rewards; and that <b>nobody can be saved, no matter how much he has given away in alms and even if he has shed blood in the name of Christ, unless he has persevered in the bosom and unity of the Catholic Church</b></span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Leo X, <i>Fifth Lateran Council</i>, Session 11, Dec. 19, 1516, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;">For, regulars and seculars, prelates and subjects, exempt and non‐exempt, belong to the <b>one universal Church, outside of which no one at all is saved</b>, and they all have <i>one Lord and one faith</i></span>.”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IV, <i>Council of Trent</i>, “Iniunctum nobis,” Nov. 13, 1565, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>This true Catholic faith, outside of which no one can be saved</b> . . . I now profess and truly hold . . .</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Benedict XIV, <i>Nuper ad nos</i>, March 16, 1743, Profession of Faith: “<b><span style="color: red;">This faith of the Catholic Church, without which no one can be saved</span></b><span style="color: blue;">, and which of my own accord I now profess and truly hold &nbsp;. . .</span>”&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">Pope Pius IX, <i>Vatican Council I</i>, Session 2, Profession of Faith, 1870, <b><i><span style="color: red;">ex cathedra</span></i></b>: “<span style="color: red;"><b>This true Catholic faith, outside of which none can be saved</b>, which I now freely profess and truly hold . . .</span>”</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1022524585413831122.post-34348073952999711782013-02-19T10:11:00.000+08:002013-02-19T10:11:06.052+08:00A Priest Condemned To Hell By Jesus Christ<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AFEmko-swdc/USLaKsuN2MI/AAAAAAAAOws/gEsZEsm04_c/s1600/Fr.+Steven+Scheier.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="512" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AFEmko-swdc/USLaKsuN2MI/AAAAAAAAOws/gEsZEsm04_c/s640/Fr.+Steven+Scheier.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Father Steven Scheier</b></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">The following article is reproduced from the <a href="http://mostholyfamilymonastery.com/">mostholyfamilymonastery.com</a> and is written by, and is therefore the intellectual product of Bro. Michael Dimond to whom sole credit belongs:</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"></div><div style="text-align: justify;">A few months ago I was able to speak a few times to a Fr. Steven Scheier. Many years ago Fr. Scheier was attempting to pass another car with his Ford Thunderbird and ran head-on into a pickup truck. The violent collision snapped his neck and tore half his scalp away. Fr. Scheier was immediately airlifted by helicopter to a hospital, while the paramedics worked desperately to save his life. Barely alive, he slipped into the stillness of death. What occurred next would forever change Fr. Scheier.</div><br />Suddenly, he found himself alone, in another dimension. Something he described as a vast spiritual void.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Scheier: “<span style="color: blue;">I was before the Judgment Seat of Almighty God . . . Our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord [whom I could hear but not see] went through all my unconfessed, unforgiven mortal sins. There was much said in regards to my life. The only thing that I did when I heard about particular instances was internally say, ‘Yes, Yes, that’s true.’ There was no rebuttal.</span><span style="color: red; font-weight: bold;"> <u>At the end of his speaking, God said, ‘The sentence that you will have for all eternity is Hell</u></span>.’ &nbsp;</div><br />“<span style="color: blue;">I thought internally, ‘I know this is what I deserve.’<b> It was if I had pronounced the sentence myself. </b>&nbsp;I had chosen my destiny, he was just honoring that decision.</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">The next voice I heard was that of a female. I didn’t see her either, but she said, ‘</span><b><span style="color: red;">Son, would you please spare his life and his eternal soul</span></b><span style="color: blue;">.</span>’&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">The male voice said, ‘</span><b><span style="color: red;">Mother, he has been a priest for twelve years for himself, and not for me. Let him reap the punishment he deserves</span></b>.’&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="color: blue;">“There was a short pause and the female voice said, ‘</span><b><span style="color: red;">But Son, if we give to him special graces and strengths, and come to him in ways that he is not familiar with, we can see if he bears fruit . . . If he does not, then Your will be done</span></b><span style="color: blue;">’</span>.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">“<span style="color: blue;">Then there was a very short pause and the male voice said ‘</span><b><span style="color: red;">Mother, he’s yours</span></b>.’”</div><br /><div style="text-align: justify;">Despite only a 15% chance of surviving, and injuries that should have left him paralyzed for life, Fr. Scheier defied all odds and made an unexplainable recovery.&nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">&nbsp; &nbsp;</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Fr. Scheier recalls that he indeed deserved to go to Hell, for he had not fulfilled his duty as a priest: “<span style="color: blue;">I could not stand peer pressure. &nbsp;In other words, I wanted to be one of the guys. &nbsp;Now the priests at this time seemed to find a need to be just one of the guys, too, a lay person. And that was shown more from the pulpit than any place else in my dealings with priests and laity – because priests would get up and talk about peace, love and joy, not morality, dogma, and what the Church is all about – because this made one unpopular and God help us if a priest was unpopular – because that would mean that the money didn’t come in. So to keep the money coming in you had to tell the people what they wanted to hear</span>.”</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">------------</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify;">***Click&nbsp;<b><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqiqO5BzH74" target="_blank">YouTube</a></b> for the video.</div></div>do battadnoreply@blogger.com0